Undercover Blues
by DancingRain92
Summary: With Olivia promoted to Sgt, team is shorthanded. That is until new blood arrives. Initially, her attitude rubs them the wrong way but Amanda decides to give her a chance. Getting to know each other is slow going until an undercover operation fall in their laps, forcing them to do away with niceties and get up close and personal. Will they be able to pull it off or go up in flames?
1. Chapter 1: The New Girl

**AN: Hey everyone! So, I've started working on something new. I'm taking from Olivia's promotion and the last episode where they were short handed but other than that nothing is really coming from the show other than the characters. This story happens as if Capt. Cragen didn't decide to retire but that might change as the story goes on. Please review and tell me what you think. Your reviews will determine whether I continue with this story or let it fall by wayside. Thanks in advance for your feedback. They're always appreciated. **

**This will be my one and only disclaimer: I do not own Law and Order: SVU or any of its characters. They are the work product of Dick Wolf and NBC. I do claim ownership of all original characters.**

Chapter 1: The New Girl

The blaring of the alarm clock on her bedside table woke her promptly at seven in the morning. She fought the urge to hit the snooze button and go back to sleep for ten more minutes. Instead, she gathered the will to get out of bed and head to the bathroom to prepare for work. It was her first day at a new precinct and she didn't want to be late. She wasn't worried about fitting in or proving anything or impressing anyone. She just wanted to do her job and go home safe every night, same as any other cop. She took a quick shower before washing her face and brushing her teeth. She dressed in cargo pants and a blue shirt that showed just a sliver of her midriff with black combat style boots. Her pants were too big so she put on a black belt, setting the buckle slightly off center in her signature style, then clipped on her badge and gun. She pulled her long jet black hair back into a ponytail and headed down to the kitchen to put her coffee on. After a couple of minutes of looking around the house she found what she was searching for. She grabbed her bag and made sure everything she needed was in it and sat it by the door before running back up the stairs to make sure her brother and sister were awake and getting ready for work and school. She went into her mother's room and set out her medication for when she woke up and then went back downstairs to the kitchen. She made her coffee, went over and grabbed her bag and then headed out the door.

She arrived at the 16th precinct at eight fifteen. She went up on the elevator and walked down the hall to the squad room doors. As she walked down the hall, she took in her surroundings; the walls, the cops, the criminals, everything. This was going to be her new home for an undetermined amount of time and she was ready to start getting used to it. She finally reached the squad room and took it in the same as she'd done the hallway. Amanda noticed her when she entered, looking around like she might be lost or wasn't sure she wanted to be there. She got up from her desk and approached her.

"Hi, can I help you?" she asked in a sweet southern tone while glancing over her appearance. It was then that she saw the badge that rested on her hip. _"There's no way she's a cop. She looks like a kid",_ Amanda thought to herself. Her staring didn't go unnoticed by the mystery woman standing in front of her.

"Yeah, I'm here to see Captain Cragen" she said hoping for some direction.

"He's in his office" Amanda said pointing to the Captain's door. She got a quick smile and a quiet thanks before the woman walked away in the direction of Cragen's door. She gave a light knock and waited. She heard a man yell for her to come in so she went inside and shut the door behind her. Amanda walked back over to her desk and sat down.

"Who's that?" Fin asked having watched the exchange between his partner and the woman. "I don't know. She didn't say. She just asked for the Captain" she said back, glancing towards Cragen's office. Olivia also looked in the direction of Cragen's office and Nick followed her gaze, looking over his shoulder. Moments later, Captain Cragen's door opened and they all tried to pretend as if they hadn't just been staring through the open blinds of his office window. He walked over and stood in front of their desks.

"You four listen up" he said getting their attention, "as you're all aware with Olivia's promotion we're down a detective on the squad. Even though we know she'll still be on the streets, one pp thinks we need the extra body because officially Liv is supposed to be taking more of a supervisory role. Meet Detective Christina Reyes. Introduce yourselves, show her the ropes, make her feel welcome" he said. He left them to do the introductions on their own and returned to his office.

"I'm Nick...Amaro" he said getting up from his desk to shake her hand. "That's Olivia Benson, Amanda Rollins, and Fin Tutuola" he said introducing everyone else. "It's nice to meet all of you" she said with a small wave. They looked her up and down, taking in her attire, "I've already been told that my style of dress is inappropriate. I'll do better tomorrow" she said noticing their stares.

"Uh, you can take this desk right over here" Olivia said pointing to the desk behind her. Christina walked over and put her bag on the desk and sat down. She wasn't sure what to do next. She hadn't brought anything to decorate. Decorating wasn't really her thing. She was about to turn around and ask if their was any work for her to do when Olivia walked over and plopped some files down on her desk.

"You know the standard paperwork right?" she asked. Reyes nodded and got right to work. Everyone that walked through the squad room would glance at her, trying to figure out who she was. A couple of officers were standing over by the stairs leading up to the crib, whispering about her. Liv, Nick, Amanda and Fin could tell that she doing her best to ignore them and focus on her work. After about ten minutes, she'd had enough.

"Don't you two have anything else to do besides stand there and talk about me?" They looked like deer in headlights, surprised that she'd said anything to confront them. "Go protect and serve or something" she said shooing them away. They walked away embarrassed that they'd been called out in front of everyone. Lunch came quickly and everyone left but Christina. Amanda and Fin had invited her to come with them but she declined stating that she wasn't hungry. After they came back from lunch she'd gone through all the files Olivia had given her and was sitting quietly at her desk waiting for something interesting to happen. She didn't want to hope they'd get a case because that meant somebody was hurt but she was bored out of her mind. After sitting there with nothing to do for about twenty minutes she turned to Olivia and asked if she had anything else for her to do. Olivia handed her another stack of files and she happily took them and got to work. At six o'clock they started to pack up to head out. They'd talked over lunch about wanting to get to know their new teammate better so they decided to ask her to join them for dinner and some drinks.

"Hey, Christina" Amaro said getting her attention. She swiveled around in her chair, "Chris...just Chris is fine" she said. "Ok, Chris. We're gonna go get some dinner, maybe have a few drinks. You wanna join us?" he asked. She didn't want to be rude but she really needed to get home. Then again she had to work with these people and trust them with her life and her with theirs. "Uhh, yeah. Sounds good" she said after some thought. She stood up from her chair and grabbed her jacket and bag and followed them out of the building. They went to a burger joint nearby and were seated almost immediately. Nick, Fin, Amanda and Liv all ordered right away, having been there enough times to not need the menu. After glancing over it for a minute Chris ordered a beer and cheese fries.

"That's all you're gonna eat? Cheese fries?" Fin asked. He knew she'd skipped lunch and thought she had to be starving by now. "Yeah. I, uh, I don't eat meat so that's all they've got that I can eat here" she explained.

"Well, we can go somewhere else" Olivia suggested receiving nods from the rest of the group. "Oh, no. It's fine. I'm good" Chris said objecting to the change in venue. "If you're sure" she said. "I am" she said back.

"So Reyes, what are you like twelve" Amaro said teasing her. She laughed and took a drink from the beer that the waiter had just brought to the table. "Fourteen actually" she shoot back. They all laughed, "Quick on your feet. I like it" he said. "So where you from?"

"California. San Bernardino" she said. "And I thought I was a long way from home" Amanda said. "Why? Where are you from?" Chris asked. "Atlanta, Georgia" she said. "That one's from Miami and these two are the genuine articles. New Yorkers, born and raised". The waitress brought out their food and they all began to eat and ordered more beers for the table.

"So what'd you work in Cali?" Fin asked.

"I was in homicide for all of about fifteen days" she said. They all paused and waited for her to say that she was joking but after a moment of silence they knew she wasn't. "Fif...fifteen days, that's it? Nick asked. She nodded, "Yep, that's it. They didn't really like me there. They said I was...too insentitive. So they transferred me to narcotics and I was there for three years, two of which were undercover and now I'm here" she explained. They all looked around the table at each other. If she was transferred from homicide for being too insensitive then special victims was definitely not the place for her. "Don't worry" she said noticing their nervous glances at each other, "I've had a lot of sensitivity training" she said taking another drink from her beer. She finished her fries and sat quietly, waiting for them to ask her more questions. "So wh..." Olivia started to ask her a question when a guy came up to the table and interrupted their conversation.

"Excuse me" he said looking at Chris, "I just noticed you from across the room and I wanted to know...". Chris decided to stop him before he put too much effort into her, "No" she said. He looked confused, "But I didn't ask you anything yet" he said laughing nervously. "Ok" she said taking another sip of her beer, "What did you want to ask me?". He smiled, "Just wanted to know if I could buy you a drink" he said. She took another drink from her beer and pretended to think about it, "No" she said again. "Come on, one drink? Maybe your name, your number?". They all watched as the guy continued to embarrass himself. She'd already said no to a drink and he thought she'd give him her name and number. _"Poor guy. Doesn't stand a chance"_ Amanda thought to herself. "Ummm, no, no, and no" she said. At this point she just wanted the guy to go away. "What am I not your type or something?" he asked. She finished the rest of her beer and turned to look the guy over. He wasn't bad looking, blonde hair and blue eyes, maybe late twenties, a scar just before his hair line, and from the jeans and plaid shirt she guessed he was a blue collar worker. "No" she repeated. He wasn't sure if she was saying no, he wasn't her type, or no, that's not the problem. She ran her hand through her hair, brushing back a few strands that had fallen loose, and he saw the shine of a ring on her third finger. "Oh, alright. I got it. You're taken" he said backing away, "Y'all enjoy the rest of your night". He turned and went back to his seat at the bar. Chris rolled her eyes and held her glass up to the waitress, indicating she'd like another round. She asked if anyone else wanted one, only Amanda joined her for another.

"So, you married?" Nick asked pointing to her ring. "Oh, god no" she said. She thanked the waitress who'd just brought her and Amanda their third beer. It didn't go unnoticed by any of them that waitress was trying to flirt with Christina but she seemed to uninterested. "But you wear a ring?". She took a large gulp from her glass. She really hated doing the whole "get to know you" routine but it was unavoidable. She needed to get along with these people. "It's my mother's" she said. He nodded his understanding, "She pass away or?". He trailed off leaving her to fill in the blank. She shook her head, "No, she's...still alive". Everyone at the table looked confused as to why she'd be wearing her mother's ring if she was alive. "Your parent's divorced?" Fin asked. "No. They're still happily married" she said. The more questions they asked and answers they got from her, the more confused they became. "It's just a...family tradition to pass down rings to your oldest. So when someone wants to marry me, they have to get permission from my mother. She's the only one who can take it off. It's pretty stupid, I know" she said with a little laugh. "Naw, it's not stupid. Not stupid at all" Amaro said. He couldn't put his finger on it but he had a feeling that something was off about this girl. If she was gonna be working on the squad, he wanted to figure out what it was.

"So, you're the oldest" Amanda asked. Rae shook her head, "No. I'm in the middle but I'm the oldest girl. I have an older brother and a younger sister" he explained. "Me too" Amanda said with a hint of sadness. "I mean, I have a younger sister. No brother" she clarified. "Well, you can have mine if you want him" she said joking. They both finished their beers and Amanda decided that she wanted to have a real conversation with this girl. Not a question and answer session, but a real conversation.

"So, why here?" Olivia asked, getting out the question she was trying to ask earlier. Chris raised her eyebrows to convey her confusion over the question. "Why send you here to New York? Are there not special victims units in San Bernardino?" she clarified. "Uh, yeah. Of course there are. I just made a personal move, with my family. This is just where I landed" she said.

"So you didn't request special victims? You had no say in this?" Amaro asked. She shook her head, "No. I told my Captain I was moving here and asked for him to put in a word for me on a transfer. I didn't ask for any specific assignment so I guess he just put me where he could" she said explaining. The mood of the conversation had definitely changed. She could see that the four of them, especially Olivia, didn't like her nonchalant attitude about being in the unit. Her phone started to ring and she excused herself from the table to take the call.

"Are they serious with this girl?" Amaro said as soon as she was out of earshot. "I mean do they really think she'll make it here? Who gets kicked out of homicide for being insensitive?" he asked. Fin just shrugged his shoulders. "She doesn't seem like she wants to or even cares about being in this unit. You can't have that kind of attitude when dealing with victims" Olivia said taking a sip from her beer.

"Well now, hold up. Maybe we should just, you know, give her a chance. I mean, Fin you said you didn't know anything about sex crimes when you first joined the unit. And Nick you'd never worked special victims either" Amanda said coming to the newbie's defense. "Yeah but I at least wanted to be here. I wanted to learn" he said.

"I never heard her say she didn't want to be here. She said she didn't _ask_ to be here. Hell neither did I and I've been here fourteen years now. I'm with Amanda on this. We gotta give her a chance to prove herself". Just then, Chris walked back over to the table, "Ummm, I have to go. I have a...family...thing" she said trying to find the words to explain her leaving. She went into her bag and took out her wallet to leave money on the table. "Don't worry about it. It's on us tonight" Fin said stopping her from leaving any money.

"Oh, you don't have to that" she said quickly. "I know" he said simply. She sighed and put the money back in her wallet and returned it to her bag. "Ok, well, ummmm, thanks. I'll see you guys tomorrow". They said goodbye and she turned towards the door. She stopped to talk to the waitress that had served them, wrote something on her notepad and walked out of the restaurant to head home. "Well, I guess he really wasn't her type" Nick said. They stayed for a little while longer, all agreeing that they'd give the new girl some time to adjust and show them what she could do before writing her off. After another hour, they settled the bill and left, heading their separate ways.


	2. Chapter 2: Warming Up

Chapter 2: Warming Up

The next day they came in and Chris wasn't at her desk. It was only eight and they were early so they didn't think anything of it. Thirty minutes passed and she was officially late. It was only her second day and Benson didn't exactly like her so far, so the chances of her covering for her were slim. Five minutes later she walked through the squad room doors. She was wearing black slacks and a red shirt tucked into her pants, her badge and gun clipped to her belt. It was only eight thirty five and she was already on her second cup of coffee in thirty minutes. It had been a long night for her but she was up and at it this morning, working hard to get her sister to school and still make it to work on time.

"I know, I'm late. Sorry" she said to Olivia as she hustled over to her desk. She looked flustered as she sat her bag and coffee down on her desk. Everything in the room was darkly tinted and then she realized that she was still wearing her sunglasses. She moved them from her eyes and rested them on top of her head. She sat down at her desk with soft thud and rubbed her hands over her face.

"You know, it's only your second day and you're already late" Olivia said sitting on the edge of her desk, "You planning on making a habit of this?".

Chris looked up at her, "Of course not" she said. She cleared her throat and took a sip of her coffee. "It won't happen again". Olivia nodded and went back to her own desk.

"You look like you're getting the hang of this a little bit, newbie" Nick said to her on his way back to his desk from getting coffee.

"What?" she asked confused.

"Your wardrobe" he explained. She rolled her eyes then grabbed her coffee cup and headed over to fill it.

Amanda walked over to her, "Long night?" she asked grabbing a new styrofoam cup.

"Uh, yeah". Amanda watched as Chris took six packets of sugar and dumped them into the bottom of her travel cup before filling it with coffee.

"That's a lot sugar" she said.

Chris laughed, "Yeah, well, it was a _really_ long night". She turned and went back to her desk and sat down to a stack of files that she assumed Olivia put there for her. Capt. Cragen came out of his office a minute later.

"We've got a victim at Bellevue hospital" he said holding up a sticky note.

"Fin, Rollins, you're up" Benson said from her desk.

They both got up and started to head out, "No" he said stopping them, "Rollins you go...and take Reyes with you" he said. Her head snapped around at the sound of her name.

"Uh, Captain I don't think that's a good idea" Olivia said standing up from her chair. "Uh, I second that" Amaro said walking over and standing next to Olivia. "She's gonna have to get her feet wet sometime. No better time than the present". Cragen handed the note to Rollins then turned and went back into his office.

"Come on" Rollins said prompting Chris to follow her. She grabbed her pen, notepad, and coffee and started to follow Amanda out of the squad room.

"Rollins, just hold up a sec" Olivia said as she went over to Cragen's office and lightly knocked on the door. She went in and shut the door behind her.

"Olivia. I'm guessing you have more to say on my decision to send Reyes with Rollins".

"Yeah, she's not ready". Cragen stood up and walked around his desk and stood in front of her with his hands in his pockets. "She doesn't know what questions to ask, or how to sympathize with the victims, or how to...".

He held his hand up to stop her, "How do you expect her to learn if she stays at her desk all the time?" he asked.

"She can watch the interview once the vic comes back to the station and she can get her feet wet here during the investigation".

"She's knows how to investigate, Liv. She worked homicide..."

Olivia scoffed, "Yeah for fifteen days" she said as if it didn't count.

"And she worked narcotics for three years. She was a star pupil, helped bring down a couple of drug rings. We can use her". Olivia opened her mouth to argue some more but Cragen put his hand up to stop her, "She has to start somewhere, just like you did". He walked back around his desk, "Now, I know that you and Fin are probably tired of breaking in new blood which is why I sent her with Rollins. She and Amaro have been here long enough now to help show her the ropes. You gotta give her a chance, Olivia", he said retaking his seat behind his desk. She sighed and went back out into the squad room.

"We good?" Rollins asked.

"Uh, yeah". Olivia started to walk back to her desk but then stopped and turned back to the door, "Hey, Reyes" she called after her. Chris turned and looked at her, "Why don't you let Rollins do the talking this time?" she suggested. Chris just nodded and turned around, took her sunglasses off her head to cover her eyes, and followed Rollins to the elevator to leave the building. On the drive to the hospital, Chris stared out the window. She was still trying to get familiar with New York streets. She looked at the landscape and took note of the street signs as Rollins drove. She could see her taking glances at her out of the corner of her eye and decided to try to start a conversation.

"She doesn't like me much does she?" she asked. Rollins was so busy trying to focus on the road and sneak glances at her companion that the question caught her off guard.

"Huh?".

Chris looked over at her, "Sgt Benson. She's not too big a fan of my being here" she said, not really asking this time.

"Oh...it's just gonna take her some time to warm up to you" Amanda said. "How long have you worked with her?" she said looking out the window again. "About three years now".

"The first time you went to interview a victim did she tell you not to talk?" Amanda stopped at a red light and looked over at Chris. She knew she was trying to make a point that it was obvious Olivia's behavior had nothing to do with needing to warm up to her. She just didn't like her, plain and simple.

"No...she didn't" Amanda answered. "But I worked SVU in Atlanta so I wasn't really a rookie. She knows you haven't done this before and she just want to ease you into it, that's all" she said trying to make excuses for Liv.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's all it is".

Amanda pulled up to the hospital and parked the car. They went inside and walked to the nurses station. Rollins showed her badge, "Hi. Detective Rollins, my partner Detective Reyes. There was a call about rape victim".

The nurse nodded her head, "Yes. Rape kit's done but you might have some trouble getting a statement from her" she said looking at chart.

"Why's that?" Rollins asked.

"I think she may be illegal. She got agitated when she was told the police were coming. She's been asking to leave". She put the chart on a rack with a bunch of others and walked out from behind the nurses station. She pointed down the hall, "She's in exam three".

They walked down the hall then stopped outside a door with the uniformed officers standing outside. Amanda introduced them to the officers, "Either of you talk to her?" she asked as she looked into the room through the small rectangular window.

"I talked, she yelled. I thought it best we wait out here til SVU arrived" the male officer said. His female partner chimed in, "Name's Ariana Soto. Just a warning, her english isn't that great".

Amanda nodded, "Thanks". Amanda knocked lightly on the door before going in. Chris followed quietly behind her.

The girl was sitting up in the bed staring at them as they entered the room. Her legs were hanging over the side and she was still wearing her hospital gown. Finger shaped bruises were visible on her wrists and thighs and she had cuts and scrapes on her face and knees. She had a black eye and a split lip and they could tell that her nose had been bleeding. She didn't look any older than seventeen. "Hi, Ariana" Rollins said slowly approaching her, "My name is Amanda Rollins. This is Christina Reyes" she said gesturing to the woman behind her. "We're Detectives with the Special Victims Unit and we want to talk to you about what happened? Do you understand?". The girl stared back and forth between them, then looked down at her feet. "Ariana" Rollins said getting her to look at her again, "Can you tell us what happened?"

"No. I want to go home". She had a thick accent and sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

"I understand if you're scared but we can help you. It's important that you talk to us so that whoever did this to you doesn't hurt any other girls". Chris stood quietly behind Amanda as she tried to get the girl to cooperate.

"I not want your help. I say nothing". She had a lot of sass in her voice and Chris immediately thought of her younger sister.

"¿Cuántos años tienes?" Chris asked finally speaking up from behind Amanda.

"Dieciseis" she answered.

"Tengo una hermana de tu edad" she said as she walked a little closer to her.

Ariana rolled her eyes, "Asi que lo que" she said back. The amount of attitude coming off the girl was enough for Chris to stop trying to be nice and get down to business.

"Mira chica, estamos aquí para usted. Los dos sabemos que si se va a salir, te lo hubieras hecho antes de llegar aquí. Así que ¿por qué no se le cae la actitud y responder a nuestras preguntas, ok?" Amanda wasn't sure what Chris had just said to the girl but her no nonsense tone was very clear. "And don't think for a second that I can't see through this bullshit "I don't speak english" game you're trying to play". She looked down at her feet again and took a heavy breath.

"I was at a party last night" she started. Her accent wasn't as thick as before and she'd toned down her attitude. "It was a birthday party for my friend's brother, Monte. He turned twenty one. Their parents were out of town so he used their house and said that she could invite some friends. It was just so she wouldn't say anything. We were having fun, everything was good. Then I started to feel dizzy and sick. Raquel, my friend, she said I could go lay down in her room". Rollins took notes on what Ariana was saying and wrote down names as she said them. "It's all a little blurry. I remember feeling someone on top of me, holding my wrists and touching my hair. He was heavy and it was hard to breath. I tried to yell but the music was too loud". She stopped talking and started to cry.

"It's alright, honey. You're doing great" Amanda said. "What else do you remember?" she asked, encouraging her to continue. She took a deep breath before continuing, "Ummm...he was gentle at first and then when I yelled he got mad. That's when he started hitting me".

"Can you remember any details about him? Hair color, eye color, any distinguishing marks?"

She shook her head, "No. It was dark and when he...started I just shut my eyes". They talked to her for a while longer, getting as much information as they could from her before she got overwhelmed and asked to take a break. She begged them not to call her parents. They said they wouldn't but advised her to do it herself. If she was planning on moving forward with pressing charges they would find out anyway and it was best that they hear it from her. She asked Chris if she would help her tell them and she agreed that she would. They told her that she could shower and get changed and the officers outside would escort her to the police station when she was ready. Chris gave her a card then they left the hospital. When they got back to the precinct, Chris went to the bathroom and Rollins went back into the squad room. Olivia started questioning her before she could even take off her jacket and sit down.

"So, how'd it go?" she asked from her desk.

"Fine" she said not giving any details. Chris walked into the squad room and went to her desk. Just as she sat down her phone started to ring. She didn't recognize the number but answered anyway.

"Reyes" she said into the speaker. "Yes, Ariana" she said looking over at Rollins. It'd only been a little over twenty minutes since they left the hospital and the teenager was already putting her number to use. "Por que no?" Rollins waited while she was on the phone with the girl for her to tell her what the next move was. "No hasta que mi digas por que no quiere que los oficiales que lo lleve". Amaro and Olivia understood what Reyes was saying but Amanda and Fin only caught bits of the one sided conversation. "Por que no puedes contestar a mi pregunta?" She listened to Ariana talk on the other end for a minute before speaking again, "Ok. We'll come back". She hung up the phone and looked at Amanda, "She wants us to come and get her. She says the uniforms there make her uncomfortable" she said using air quotes. Rollins got back up and put her jacket back on before grabbing her keys and heading for the door with Reyes.

"Wait a minute" Olivia said stopping them, "what's going on?" she said wanting some clarity on the situation.

"The vic is sixteen year old Ariana Soto. She was possibly drugged and raped at a birthday party. We got as much as we could out of her at the hospital but she was starting to shut down so we stopped and let her get cleaned up. We were gonna have the unis that responded bring her over when she was ready but apparently, she doesn't want to ride with them" Rollins said giving Olivia the cliff notes.

"Uh, I thought we agreed that you would do all the talking? Why is she calling Reyes" she asked.

"She liked me better" Chris said speaking up. Rollins gave her a playful glare and Chris just looked away and laughed.

"She was hesitant to cooperate at first, pretending that she didn't speak english. Reyes stepped in and was able to get her talking" Amanda explained.

"Ok, well why don't you take Amaro and Reyes can stay here and get started on writing up her statement". Nick started to get out of his chair and put on his suit jacket to go with Amanda.

"Why?" Chris asked defiantly. "She didn't ask for him. She asked for us". Fin watched from his desk, interested in how this was about to play out. Olivia was trying not let her dislike for the newbie be so obvious but it was apparent in her body language that she wanted the girl out of the way.

"You're new. I'm just trying not to overwhelm you" she said. What she really wanted to say was she didn't want her to screw this up.

"I'm not overwhelmed. Not even a little bit". Olivia was staring her down but Chris didn't flinch under her gaze. She wasn't intimidated and she wanted to make sure Olivia knew it.

"Liv, we're all good" Amanda said trying to ease the tension. "I'll keep an eye on her". She turned and tapped Chris lightly on the shoulder with the back of her hand, "Come on. Let it go" she whispered. Chris held her stare as she took her glasses off her head and put them on her face before turning and walking with Rollins out of the squad room. They stepped onto the elevator and Amanda hit the button to take them to the first floor. Chris leaned against the wall as they rode down, "Still think she just needs to warm up to me?" she asked. The doors opened and she stepped out, not even waiting for Amanda to respond to her. Rollins shook her head, "This is gonna be interesting" she said to herself as she walked off the elevator and out of the building.

**Spanish-English Translation **

**¿Cuántos años tienes?- **How old are you?

**Dieciseis- **Sixteen

**Tengo una hermana de tu edad- **I have a sister about your age

**Asi que lo que- **So what

**Mira chica, estamos aquí para usted. Los dos sabemos que si se va a salir, te lo hubieras hecho antes de llegar aquí. Así que ¿por qué no se le cae la actitud y responder a nuestras preguntas, ok?"- **Look girl, we're here for you. We both know that if you were going to leave, you wouldv'e done it before we got here. So why don't you drop the attitude and answer our questions, ok?

**Por que no?- **Why not?

**No hasta que mi digas por que no quiere que los oficiales que lo lleve- **Not until you tell me why you don't want the officers to drive you.

**Por que no puedes contestar a mi pregunta?- **Why can't you just answer my question?


	3. Chapter 3: First Victim Interview

Chapter 3: First Victim Interview

Amanda and Chris returned to the squad room with Ariana and set her up in the interview room across from Cragen's office. They gathered in Cragen's office to assess where they were and what the next steps were going to be. It'd already been ten hours since the rape. There was no telling how many people had been in and out of that house and who'd been in the room since the incident. He didn't know how much evidence had been lost but he didn't want to risk losing anymore so he sent Amaro to meet CSU to process the scene. The others decided to wait to hear the rest of what Ariana had to say about what happened to her and then start questioning witnesses.

"I think Chris should take the lead" Amanda said as they discussed how to proceed. Two things surprised her: first was that Rollins had called her Chris and second was that she suggested she lead an interview with the victim. She really had no idea what she was doing. Rollins knew that but she figured they'd never know what Reyes could do if they didn't give her the opportunity to show them.

"Uh, are we sure that's a good idea?" Olivia asked. She was also surprised by Rollins' suggestion.

"She already has repor with her. She's speaks Spanish..." Amanda started rattling off reasons why she thought Reyes should lead the interview.

"Yeah, so do I" Olivia said, obviously opposed to Reyes taking point. If it was up to her, she wouldn't be in the room at all.

"Ariana likes her" Amanda said ignoring Olivia's smart comment.

"What do you think, Reyes?" Cragen asked. She was a little caught off guard by him asking her opinion.

"Uhhh" she shrugged, "Yeah. I can...I can do it" she said.

Cragen nodded his head, "Alright. It's settled then. You go on in and we'll watch through the two-way" he said. Olivia shut her eyes and shook her head from side to side.

"If you have something to say, why don't you just say it" Chris said. She was tired of the smart ass comments and slick gestures from Olivia. She knew she had a problem with her and she wanted her to come right out and tell her. Amanda and Fin braced themselves for the argument that was about to happen.

"Ok. I don't think you're ready for this" Olivia said looking Chris in the eyes. "You don't know what you're doing. One wrong word and she could stop talking and then we have nothing".

"And what, it's guaranteed that if you or Rollins or Tutuola goes in there that you'll say the right thing? I get that this job is important to you and you don't think I'm up for it but you're wrong. I can do this job". Fin was impressed with the rookie and how well she stood her ground. A lot of other women on the job who crossed paths with Liv were intimidated by her. Chris was the second woman he'd met who wasn't; the first was Amanda. "I can talk to her. I talk to one just like her everyday when I go home. I could talk to her in my sleep" she said confidently. "That might not be true for the next victim that walks through those doors...but it is for her". They stood quietly and waited for Olivia to come back with a rebuttal but she had none. After a moment of silence, Captain Cragen spoke up, "Ok then. Reyes, it's on you".

Chris turned and walked through the door from Cragen's office into the interview room. She sat her notepad and pen on the table and pulled out the chair across from Ariana to sit down. "Took you long enough" she smart alecked. She was wearing sweats and a t shirt they'd given her at the hospital and her hair was still wet from her shower. She looked miserable and exhausted and completely annoyed.

"What'd I say about the attitude?" she said. She planned on talking to her the same way she talked to her sister. She always got everything she wanted to know out of her, sometimes more.

"Well, it's true. I've been sitting here waiting for like an hour".

Chris rolled her eyes, "Stop being so dramatic. It's only been fifteen minutes" she said. She pulled her phone from her pocket and slid it across the table to her. Ariana looked confused as to what she wanted her to do with it. "Dial your parents number". The color drained from her face and she looked terrified.

"I can't tell them" she said, her voice quivering.

"Yes, you can". Chris was confident that all she needed was a little encouragement and she would be able to talk to her parents on her own. Ariana picked up the phone, dialed the number and put the phone up to her ear. Her mother answered the phone and she softly said hi then started to cry. Ariana opened her mouth to say something else but nothing came out. Chris took the phone from her and talked to her mother. She told her that Ariana was at the police station. She assured her that she wasn't in any trouble but that she could come down to talk to her in person. Once Mrs. Soto told her that she and her husband were on their way she hung up the phone and sat it down on the table.

"You're gonna tell them, right?" she asked.

Chris shook her head, "No. You're gonna tell them".

"But you said you would talk to them for me" she said getting angry.

"No, I said I would help you talk to them. And I will" she added. "We'll worry about that when they get here". She opened her notepad and clicked the top of her pen so she was ready to write. "Right now, we need to talk about what happened last night".

Ariana slouched down in her chair, "I already told you and the other detective everything" she said defiantly.

"Well, tell me again". Every time she gave Chris attitude, Chris gave it right back to her. "You were downstairs in the living room. There was music, dancing, what else?" she said prompting her to begin.

"Raquel gave me a drink. I asked her what it was and she said jungle juice. I'd never had it before. I don't drink but I didn't want to seem lame in front of everyone so I took it and started to drink it. It was good. It didn't taste like there was any alcohol or anything in it". Chris listened intently as Ariana recounted the events of the night to her again. She could feel Benson, Rollins, Tutuola and Captain Cragen watching her through the window and it made her a little uncomfortable. She put those feelings to the side to focus on what Ariana was saying. "I was only half way through my second cup when I started to feel weird. The room was moving and there were white spots in my eyes. I told Raquel that I wasn't feeling good and she said I could lay down in her room".

"Where is her room?" Chris asked interrupting her.

"Ummm...it's the second door up the stairs, next to the bathroom" she answered.

"Ok. What happened after you went to lay down?". Ariana's eyes were darting all over the room. She wouldn't for the life of her make eye contact with Reyes.

"I told you...I felt someone on top of me..." she started to get a little sass in her voice.

"Attitude adjustment" she said cutting her off. Ariana took a deep breath to calm herself before continuing.

"I felt someone on top of me. He was touching my hair and holding my arms over my head". Her voice started to shake but she kept controlling her breathing so that she didn't start crying again.

"You said at the hospital that he was gentle" Chris said interrupting her again.

"Yeah" she said in agreement.

"How was he gentle? Describe for me what he did" she said wanting to get more detail.

"He was smoothing my hair, softly like...like my mom does sometimes. And he held me down but not hard. His grip on my wrists wasn't that tight". Chris took notes on everything Ariana described about her attack. "What else?" she asked encouraging her to continue.

"He started to pull a little harder and hold me down more. I didn't know what was happening. It seemed like a dream" she said a little dazed. "But I don't know, it was just...gentle" she said. "He pulled your hair and held you down but he was gentle?"

"Yeah. It was like a light tug, you know, like...you know" she said not wanting to explain any further.

"No, actually, I don't".

Ariana rolled her eyes, "It was like someone would pull your hair if you wanted them to. Not hard just...a little tug" she said not knowing how else to explain it.

Chris raised her eyebrows and shook her head, "Whatever" she whispered, "keep going. What happened next?" Olivia cringed when she heard Reyes say "whatever" to the girl. She couldn't believe that they were allowing her to question a victim on her own on only her second day. She just kept quiet and continued to listen to Ariana through the speaker.

"I was kind of in a fog. It was like it was all happening in slow motion. There are pieces missing now" she said sadly.

"Just tell me everything you can remember" Chris said nicely.

"He tried to kiss me but I moved out of the way. I tried to get up but he held me down harder. Ummm...I tried to yell. I don't know if I yelled at him or if I yelled for help but I just remember yelling. That's when he got mad, hit me in the face. I don't know how I got all these" she said touching the scrapes on her face and her slip lip, "or the ones on my legs. It's all blank. I could just feel how heavy he was on top of me and how hot his breath was on my face. I just shut my eyes". A few tears escaped her eyes as she talked about her ordeal. She just wanted this whole thing to be over.

In the Captain's office there was a knock at the door and an officer stuck his head in, "You wanted to know when the victims parent's got here" he said, implying they had arrived. "Tell them we'll be right with them" Cragen directed the officer. He nodded his head and ducked back out of the office.

"Please tell me that Amanda is going to stay in the room now" Olivia said from behind the mirror".

Why?" Fin asked. "Reyes seems to be doing a good job to me" he said.

"Because this is exactly why she got tossed from homicide. You remember what she said. She was too insensitive".

Fin nodded his head, "Yeah, I did. I also heard her say that she's had a lot of sensitivity training". He understood Olivia's nervousness about the situation but at the same time he wasn't for the hand-holding that she wanted.

"Oh, come on, Fin. The girl's a walking ball of sarcasm. She didn't mean that. She just said whatever to her. They don't teach that in sensitivity training". Olivia couldn't believe that they were all willing to let Chris off her leash so soon.

"Alright, enough" Cragen said jumping in. "Rollins stay in the room" he said. Olivia let out a relieved breath and turned back to the window. Amanda left to get the girl's parents and take them to their daughter.

Ariana was still trying to piece together more details of her assault when there was a knock at the door and Amanda stuck here head in. "Ariana, your parents are here". She stepped aside and let Mr. and Mrs. Soto walk in past her. Mrs. Soto rushed over to their daughter and wrapped her in hug.

"Are you alright, mija?" her mother asked. "I'm fine, mama" she said back.

"You must be Detective Reyes" her father said addressing Christina. She stood up from her chair and extended her hand, "I am" she said. She shook his hand and then her mother's and asked them to sit down. Amanda sat next to her and nodded for her to continue the interview.

"Mr. and Mrs. Soto, Ariana has something she needs to tell you". She turned to look at the girl, "Go ahead". Ariana just stared at her parents with her mouth open, unable to form any words.

"Well, what is it?" her father asked. Both Ariana and her mother winced and Chris knew immediately why Ariana was so afraid to talk to her parents. Her father's tone was harsh and his body was intimidating, especially to a teenage girl. "It's ok, mija. You can tell us" her mother said reaching up to touch her hair. Ariana relaxed into her mother's touch but flinched when her father brought his hand up and rested it on the back of her chair. Amanda recognized her reaction immediately and though this was all new to Chris, she quickly put together that it wasn't just a result of her assault. Mrs. Soto looked her daughter over more attentively and realized what she was wearing. "Where are your clothes?" she asked confused.

"What the hell is going on here?" Mr. Soto asked impatiently. "Is my daughter under arrest for something?"

"No" Chris said simply, "As I told your wife on the phone, Ariana isn't in any trouble". She was getting annoyed with his abrasive stance and was ready to take him down a notch if stepped out of line.

He abruptly stood up from his chair, "Then I'm taking my daughter home". He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up out of her chair. Both Chris and Amanda rose from their chairs as he tried to pull his wife and daughter towards the door. Ariana started to cry and Chris realized she'd have to step in for her.

She stepped in front of him and held a hand up to stop him, "Mr. Soto your daughter is trying to tell you something. Your tone and impatience isn't helping her do that. You need to let go of her arm and sit back down so that she can tell you why you were called down here". Amanda stood beside Chris to be supportive but kept quiet and let her try to get a handle on the situation.

"She just had the opportunity to talk and she didn't say anything" he said angrily.

"Well, I wonder why that is" she said sarcastically.

"What are you trying to say?" he asked getting more angry.

"I'm not _trying_ to say anything. I'm _saying_ that the behavior you're showing right now is most likely the same behavior you show her all the time which is why she was terrified to have you brought down here. I'm guessing when she wants to talk, you're not the one she goes to. I know this because when I told her to call her parents she automatically dialed her mother. Not the home number, her direct cell, probably because she didn't want to risk you answering the phone and having to explain why she's calling from a police station. She cringes at the sound of your voice which is understandable, it is a bit harsh. But an even bigger tell is the way she flinched when you put your hand on her chair, yet she relaxes into her mother's touch". Amanda was impressed by everything Reyes had managed to catch in the time she'd spent with Ariana and in the short time that her parents were in the room. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that, watching from behind the glass, Olivia was impressed too. "It was far too easy for you to grab her arm and pull her from her chair which tells me that you do it quite often. Lucky for her, I'm in the room this time. You're not leaving. The first thing you're going to do is let go of her arm". He hesitantly released his grip from Ariana's arm and waited for Chris to continue. "Now, you're going to sit down and listen to what Ariana has to say. Now, I know it'll be hard for you because habits are hard to break but while she's talking...you _will not _interrupt her. You will sit quietly and you will listen". After she'd effectively reduced his ego from the size of the globe to the pit of a peach, she gestured for him to retake his seat.

Ariana stood there in shock. She couldn't believe that she'd just talked to her father like that. She met her eyes and Chris gave her an encouraging nod before going over and sitting back down next to Amanda. Knowing that she had Detective Reyes on her side it was easier for Ariana to tell her parents about what happened to her the night before. Her mother cried and hugged her and her father just sat there with a steel expression on his face, trying hard not show any emotion. Once her parents knew the situation, Chris, with Ariana's permission, continued her interview with her parent's present. She held on to her mother's hand as she told Chris and Amanda everything she could remember about what happened. When they'd asked all their questions and answered all of Ariana's and her parent's, they told them they could take their daughter home. Chris told Ariana that she could call her day or night, no matter what time it was, if she needed anything. She gave a card to her mother as well and repeated the same before the Sotos walked out of the precinct.

Amanda and Chris went back to the Captain's office to see that Nick had returned from the house. He'd come in just in time to see Reyes handle Mr. Soto and he couldn't deny that he was impressed. He gave them the run down of his trip to the house with CSU. It definitely looked like their had been a party in the house. When he got there, nothing had been cleaned up and there were people still passed out on the floor, couches and stairs. Nobody even knew that Ariana had left. That was good news in regards to the preservation of the crime scene. Raquel hadn't slept in her room so everything was still as it was when Ariana and the perp left. There was blood on the bed and floor and traces of semen on the sheets. They also found vomit on the floor. Rollins and Reyes mentioned that Ariana didn't say anything about throwing up so there was a possibility that it came from her rapist. They got a call from the lab confirming the presence of fluids on the rape kit and GHB in her system. Now that they had her statement and had confirmed that she was drugged they were ready to start questioning witnesses.

They started by bringing in Monte and Raquel Ramos. Since Raquel was a minor and had been the one to give Ariana her drinks they called their parents home from their vacation. They would need to sit in on the interview with Raquel. While they waited for the parents to show, Nick and Fin took a shot at Monte. They got a list of everyone who was at the party and took a DNA swab and sent it off to the to be compared to the rape kit. He gave it voluntarily so they were pretty sure he wasn't their guy. Mr. and Mrs. Ramos arrived shortly after they finished questioning Monte and were not happy to find out that their kids had hosted a party where a girl was raped. They brought them to the interview room with Raquel and Olivia and Amanda questioned her about the drinks she'd given Ariana. She said she wasn't the one that made them. Someone made them for her and she gave them to Ariana. She gave them the name of the guy who made the drinks, "Mike something" she said. She couldn't remember his last name. Nick went back to the list the brother had given him and found who they were looking for: Mike Landry, a buddy of his from the car lot where he worked. The DNA came back from the lab and cleared Monte as a suspect. They decided not to arrest him for giving alcohol to minors but let him go with a stern warning. They figured the wrath of mama Ramos was enough punishment for the both of them.


	4. Chapter 4: First Interrogation

Chapter 4: First Interrogation

They hauled in everyone on the list and all of them offered up their DNA without hesitation. The last person and best lead was Mike Landry and he was nowhere to be found. They went to his apartment, his job, and his parents house and came up with nothing. It was nearing six thirty and they were about to call it a night when they got a call from Monte saying that he'd gotten in touch with Mike. He said he'd found his phone at his house and was on his to come get it. Fin, Rollins and Reyes got in a sedan and went to the hotel the Ramos family was staying in. They got there just as he was leaving and hopped out the car to arrest him. Of course, he tried to run but Fin was able to cut him off with the car. They cuffed him, read him his rights and hauled him down to the station where they argued about whether it was a good idea to bring Ariana in for a line up. The DA arrived and they hoped he could settle the argument.

"ADA Barba, Detective Reyes" Cragen said doing the introductions.

They shook hands, "Rafael", he said with a light smile. "Chris".

"Ok, so where are we with this guy?" Barba asked, walking over to the mirror to get a closer look at the suspect.

"Mike Landry, twenty four, works at a car lot doing repossessions" Fin said giving Barba the skinny on their suspect.

"Criminal record?"

"Small stuff" Rollins said opening her file on the guy, "A couple of arrests for petty theft for stealing from some of the cars at his job. Nothing violent, nothing sexual involving minors or otherwise. There is an ex-girlfriend who tried to bring rape charges against him but she dropped it when she was told there wasn't enough to make the case" she said.

"He got another job at a car lot after stealing from cars?" Barba asked confused.

"Well, he was a minor so he spent a little time in juvenile detention and his record was expunged when he turned eighteen on the condition he stay out of trouble" she explained.

"What else?"

"Witnesses confirm that he was the one that made the jungle juice for the party and Raquel named him as the one that made the drinks to give to the vic" Olivia said chiming in.

"Raquel is...?" he asked.

"Ariana, the victim's, best friend. It was her brother Monte's party. He turned twenty one and told her she could invite a few friends so she wouldn't tell their parents, who were out of town, that he was using their house for his birthday bash".

Barba nodded his understanding, "And the girl, the victim, uhhh, Ariana...she ID him?"

"That's what we were just debating" Reyes said jumping into the conversation. "She was drugged, lab found traces of GHB in her system, so her memory isn't all there. She says it was dark, she closed her eyes, didn't get a look at his face. I wouldn't count on her being able to pick him out" she said. She and Amanda both thought it was a bad idea to do the line-up. Olivia and Nick thought they should give it a try. They thought maybe seeing him would jog her memory but Chris didn't want to risk it. Fin was indifferent. It didn't matter to him how they made the case as long as they did it legally and made it stick.

"You don't have much confidence in her, do you?" Barba asked looking at Chris.

She walked over and leaned against the two-way window, "We went over it over and over again. She couldn't give any details about him. She could barely remember half of what happened during the rape. The girl's got holes in her memory the size of the holes in my sister's jeans" she said. Barba's eyebrows raised at Reyes' sense of humor. "If you want to put him in a line-up, that's your deal, but I talked to her and I'm telling you she won't remember him".

"Ok" Barba said deciding to move on from the topic of a line-up, "What about physical evidence?". It was Nick's turn to add something to the discussion.

"Blood on the sheets and floor is a match to Ariana. There was also semen present and vomit on the floor. We checked, the vomit's not from Ariana or any of the other party goers so it has to be the perps. All the other males at the party offered up their DNA, we ran 'em all against the kit and no dice". He pointed at the two-way window, "He's the last one on the list of people the brother gave us of who was at the party. He's got to be our guy".

"His DNA not in the system from his juvie arrest?" Barba asked.

"It was but when his records were expunged his parents and the big shot lawyer they hired made sure that everything that came with it, including fingerprints and DNA, was wiped from the system" Rollins explained. "They didn't want any chance that it could have a negative effect on his future" she finished.

"It pays in soooo many ways to be rich" Chris said.

"Tell me about it" Fin said.

"I can't. I'm not rich" she answered sarcastically.

"I didn't mean...I mean it's just a..." Chris smiled and Fin rolled his eyes. "You can't ever just be serious, can you?" he asked.

"Well, you know" she said with a little shrug and a chuckle.

"Alright. Let's hold off on the line-up; see if you can get him to hang himself. I don't want to risk her not being able to ID him and then it be admissible at trial" he said.

Cragen nodded, "Alright. Sounds good to me" he said. "Amaro...and Reyes" he said turning to his new detective, "you take the interrogation". Nick stood up and walked over to the door to the interview room.

"I thought you said I just had to get my feet wet? I'm soaked over here" she said walking over by Amaro.

"Just say the word and I'll send Rollins instead" he said smirking at her joke.

"Nope. I'm good boss". She turned to Amaro, "After you" she said gesturing for him to head in. He opened the door and walked into the room with the suspect and she followed behind him.

"Well, she's...different" Barba noted as the door to the interview room closed.

"Oh, you have no idea" Cragen said agreeing with him.

Amaro and Reyes sat down across from the suspect and stared at him. He stared directly at Reyes as if Amaro wasn't even in the room. She was careful to control her facial expressions. She didn't want him to think that he had any affect on her whatsoever. Soon his straight face turned to a smirk and he looked down at his hands that rested on the table.

"She always so serious?" he asked finally looking at Amaro. Nick ignored him and just continued to stare, same as Reyes. They wanted him to know that they controlled when the conversation would start and what it would be about. "¿Por qué no sonríes para mí la miel?" he said. He was tying to sound sexy but his pronunciation was horrible. Amaro almost laghed but was able to hold his stare. Chris got up from her chair and walked around the table to stand behind him. She put her arms around him so that her hands rested on the table.

"Let's set a few ground rules, ok? First, don't ever call me honey. Second" she slammed her knee into the back of his chair, "sit up straight. Third, speak english. You're embarrassing yourself". She opened a folder sitting on the table, pulled out a picture and sat it in front of him before walking back around to her chair and sitting down.

"Ariana Soto" she said. She kept her steady glare and waited for a response.

He scratched his head, "I'm sorry. Who?"

"The sixteen year old girl you drugged and raped last night at your buddy Monte's twenty first birthday party" Nick said jumping in.

Mike shook his head, "No, I didn't rape anybody. You got the wrong guy" he said.

Chris shrugged her shoulder, "Ok. So just give us a DNA sample and we can clear this whole thing up" she said looking over at Nick who shook his head in agreement.

"A DNA sample?" he asked as if he didn't know what it was.

"Yeah" Chris said annoyed with his innocent act, "a DNA sample. You remember what that is, right? You had to give one when you were arrested for...what was it, again?" she asked looking at Nick.

"Stealing from cars on his uncle's repo lot" he said, pretending to remind her.

"That's right. He did you a favor by giving you job at his lot after school. You bagged up people's belongings for them when their cars were impounded, only they didn't get all their stuff back, did they? That's a pretty ungrateful attitude there, Mikey" she said.

"Whatever. I was a kid then. Doesn't mean I raped anybody" he said.

"We talked to your ex-girlfriend, Elena. She told us that she dumped your ass because she found nude pictures of herself on your phone. Pictures that she doesn't remember posing for" Nick said leaning forward with his elbows on the table.

"She was young too. Only seventeen. You like 'em young and latin, huh, Mike?" Reyes said a little flirty. "Is that why you were so excited when Monte invited you to his party? You were hoping to find some nice, young Latinas to prey on?"

"I didn't do anything wrong. Elena got drunk and didn't remember taking the pictures. That's not my fault".

Nick stood up and slammed his hand down on the table, "She was seventeen years old!" he yelled. He got up and walked around the table, "You got her drunk and you took advantage of her!" he yelled in his face.

Mike started to get flustered, "No, that's not true. She wanted to have a good time. I helped her do that" he said shrinking away from Amaro. Chris got up from her chair and joined Nick on the other side of the table.

"Oh, you helped her alright. You drugged her, didn't you? You drugged her and raped her and then kept a parting gift for yourself" Chris said towering over him on the side opposite Amaro. "You couldn't help yourself, could you? You needed those pictures. You needed to..." she paused as if a thought came over her. "You needed to relive the moment...over and over again". Her volume trailed off and she stood up straight. She walked from behind him and stood at his side. She looked down at his pants pockets and didn't see any indication of anything in his pockets. "Stand up" she commanded. He slowly stood from his chair and she walked around to look at his back pockets. _"Empty" _she thought to herself. "Sit down". He slowly sat back down, unsure of what she was thinking. She walked over to the door leading to Captain Cragen's office. "Come on, Nick. We don't need this guy" she opened the door and left the interview room. Nick picked up the folder and followed her out of the room.

"Why'd you do that?" he asked confused as to why she pulled them out. "We had him. He was about to crack" he said slapping the folder down on Cragen's desk. "I think he already did" she said.

"What are you thinking?" Cragen asked. Clearly, she felt like she was on to something.

"He was in the wind. We couldn't find him. He would've gotten away with it. So why come back?". She already knew the answer but she wanted get everyone on her thought train.

"Monte called him and told him he had his phone" Fin said answering her.

"Yeah, but if you were trying to duck a rape charge would you go back to the city where cops are looking for you to get a phone?"

"Nah. I'd just get a new one" he said.

"Exactly. So it wasn't the phone that he came back for. He could get a new phone so there must be something on his phone that's irreplaceable" she said hoping they'd catch on to her thought process.

"Pictures" Rollins said catching on to what Reyes was getting at.

Chris nodded her head, "He took pictures of Ariana before he raped her, just like he did to Elena, but this time he lost his phone. Hours later, when he wanted to relive what he did, he couldn't. He needed those pictures. So he came back but he didn't count on Monte ratting him out" she explained.

"We need to find that phone" Benson said.

"Is that enough?" she asked turning to Barba. He looked as if he didn't understand her question. "We have everyone who says he made the drinks for the party, Raquel who can testify that he made the drinks specifically for Ariana and when we find his phone..."

"You mean _if _you find his phone" Barba said interrupting her.

"When we find his phone" she repeated, "we'll have the pictures. Is that enough to compel a DNA sample?" she asked clarifying her earlier question.

"I'd feel better if he had priors" he said rubbing his forehead.

"What about Elena?" she asked.

He shook his head, "There was no arrest. That's not helpful" he said dismissing the idea.

"She tried. She went to the police but they couldn't charge him. She didn't find the pictures until weeks later so any evidence of the drugs or the rape was gone and of course she had no memory of it but that's not the point" she said stopping herself from rambling.

"Oh, you have a point?" Barba asked smirking at her.

"Of course I do. I always have a point. We have Elena, seventeen, Latina, drugged, raped, pictures. Ariana, sixteen, Latina, drugged, raped, pictures. She proves a pattern of behavior; establishes his MO" she said finally getting to her point.

Barba nodded his head, "Ok, I could work that. This ex-girlfriend, she'd be willing to testify?"

Reyes shrugged her shoulders, "I don't see why not?" she said.

"That's not a yes, detective" he said looking at her sideways.

"Ok. Say she agrees to testify. Can you make that enough for the DNA swab?" she asked.

"Without a doubt" he said confidently. Without another word, Chris walked out of Cragen's office and over to her desk. She pulled out her notepad and found Elena Delano's phone number and called her. Everyone watched through the office window as she sat at her desk on her phone.

"Where'd you find this girl?" Barba asked looking at Captain Cragen.

"The stork dropped her off" he quipped.

"I'd hazard a guess that she drinks as much caffeine as I do" he said looking at her through the window.

"More...with lots of sugar" Rollins said.

"Where's she from?"

"California" Amaro said jumping in. "Don't stare so hard, counselor. You're not her type" he joked. Barba turned and glared at him and everyone else laughed. Chris walked back into Cragen's office.

"We got her. She'll testify" she said referring to Mike Landry's ex.

"Ok. Find the pictures. I'll start working on the court order" he said grabbing his brief case and heading towards the door. He stopped and turned to look at Reyes, "Good work, Detective" he said. She gave a light nod and he walked out of the office.

"So, what are the chances we'll find his phone at the house?" Fin asked. "CSU's already been over the place. Do we think they missed it?".

Nick shook his head, "Not a chance. We lifted every surface and looked in all the nooks and crannies. No cell phone" he said.

"Maybe it was somewhere else in the house. I mean, how thorough were they in the rest of the place?" Reyes asked.

"Well, we mainly focused on the best friend's room since that's were the rape took place but we went through every room" he said.

"Well, go back. All of you. Find it" Cragen said.

They all left his office, grabbed their jackets and headed over to the Ramos' house. They searched the place from top to bottom but didn't find the phone. It was getting late and they were running out of ideas. Olivia, Nick, Fin and Amanda were ready to pack it in but Chris wasn't ready to give up yet. She paced back and forth across the living room trying to think of where the phone could be. Then it hit her.

"Monte" she said aloud. "Monte called him and told him he had his phone. He was leaving the hotel when we got there" she said.

"Yeah, so, what's your point?" Amaro asked annoyed. He was tired and couldn't think straight anymore. He just wanted to go home, get some sleep, and start again with a clear head in the morning.

"So, my point is that either Monte lied and told Landry he had his phone so he'd come to the hotel for us to arrest him or..."

"Or he did have his phone and gave it back to him. Which would mean Landry had his phone when he left the hotel" Rollins said following Reyes thought process. Reyes had a feeling that she was really going to like Rollins. They seemed to be on the same wavelength most of the time. She was looking forward to continuing working with her.

"Yes, but his pockets were empty. So between the hotel and the station, he lost the phone again" she said.

"Great, so it could be anywhere" Liv said sounding just as annoyed as Nick.

"No, it has to be outside the hotel" she corrected.

"We patted him down before we put him in the sedan and he had nothing in his pockets" Fin said chiming in. "It must have fallen out when I hit him with the car".

They left the house and went to the hotel to find the phone. They looked around outside for a few minutes until Rollins thought to go inside and ask the front desk if anyone had turned in a phone. Sure enough, valet found the phone and gave it to the front desk. She took the phone and looked through the picture gallery and hit the jack pot. They called Barba and told him they found the phone and the pictures were there, just as Reyes had suspected. He sounded pleased and told them he'd put the finishing touches on his DNA request and they'd have the court order by the morning. Just like that, they had him. They went back to the station to log the phone into evidence and check in with the Captain. He commended them on their work, especially Reyes, and told them to go home and get some sleep.

They gathered their things and headed for the elevators. Chris' phone rang and she pulled it from her pocket and answered it. She tried to quietly argue with whoever was on the other end but in the enclosed space of the elevator, it was impossible for them not to hear her. "Ok. I'm on my way home. I'm on my wa...I'm hanging up. I don't care. What!?" she yelled suddenly startling everyone. "¿Sabes qué, no me importa. Sí, eso es lo que dije. Go to bed. I'm hanging up. Bye". She hung up the phone and let out a harsh sigh. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back on the wall of the elevator. A second later, they reached their floor and the doors opened. They filed out of the elevator and out the precinct doors to the parking lot. Reyes offered Rollins a ride home and she gladly accepted.

Olivia stopped them on the way to her car, "Hey, Reyes" she called after her. Chris turned to see who'd called her name. Olivia walked over to where she and Rollins had stopped, "Listen, I know I've given you a hard time but I just wanted to tell you...good job today. You did excellent work" she said complimenting. Rollins looked at Chris as she was about to say something. She had a feeling that nothing but sarcasm was about to come out of her mouth.

"Just...say thank you" she said stopping her from ruining the moment. Chris smiled, "Thank you" she said softly. Olivia gave a small laugh and nodded her head before turning and walking to her car. Chris and Amanda did the same and they all headed home for the night.

**Spanish- English Translation**

**¿Por qué no sonríes para mí la miel? **- Why don't you smile for me, honey.

**¿Sabes qué, no me importa. Sí, eso es ****lo que dije**- You know what, I don't care. Yes, that's what I said.


	5. Chapter 5: Fast Friends

Chapter 5: Fast Friends

The next morning they came in Barba had made good his word for the DNA sample. They swabbed Landry and sent the sample off the lab. It came back an hour later that it was a match to the fluids on the bedsheet and the rape kit. They sent him off to booking and worked up the paperwork to hand the case over to the DA. Ariana called Chris fives times throughout the day. She tried to be patient with her but the girl needed more attention than she was used to giving. They were getting close to calling it a night when Chris got another call, this time from Ariana's mother.

"Señora Soto, más despacio. No puedo entender" she said into the phone. Mrs. Soto was hysterical and nothing Chris was saying was helping to calm her down. "Señora, Señora. No, no, no, no. I...please". By now she had the intention of almost everyone in the squad room. "Por favor. Necesito que te calmes y que me escuches. Vete a casa y esperar allí. Voy a encontrarla. ¿Entiendes? Encontraré Ariana". She hung up with Mrs. Soto and immediately dialed Ariana's number.

"Hey, what's going on?" Olivia asked.

"Ariana didn't come home from school. Her mother called and they said she never showed up" she said as she waited for an answer. The call went to voicemail so she hung up and called her again. When the call went to voicemail again she tried calling Raquel. She talked to her for a few minutes but she swore she didn't know where Ariana was and that she hadn't talked to her since the night of the party. She hung up with her and tried Ariana again. This time a boy answered the phone.

"Who is this?" she asked. He was laughing and slurring his words and not even attempting to answer her question. "Put Ariana on the phone" she said. She was past her limit with this girl. _"I guess this is what Benson meant about knowing how to deal with victims" _she thought to herself. "Ariana where the hell are you?" she asked. "Chill...Ariana, don't tell me to chill out. Where are you?" she asked her again. "Stay there. I'm coming to get you". She got up and started to put her jacket on. "Ariana, if you're not there when I get there I promise you're gonna wish you never met me, do you understand? Don't go anywhere. I'm on my way". She hung up the phone, grabbed her gun from her desk drawer and her keys. Rollins walked over to her desk.

"Hey, you want to some back up?" she asked. Chris didn't know why she was always being so friendly. Olivia and Nick had pretty much written her off on her first day and Fin hadn't shown that he felt one way or another. But Rollins had been in her corner from the start. She thought that maybe Amanda was interested in her but she wasn't for dating coworkers. She'd seen it happen and it never ended well. At any rate, if she wanted to tag along she wouldn't say no. "Uh, sure. Yeah" she said. They walked out together to go find Ariana.

They found her sitting on the stoop of a house with another girl and a couple of guys. All of them were at least five years older than her. They had no business hanging out with her on a school night and giving her alcohol. They searched all of them and found marijuana on the girl and a small bag of cocaine on each of the guys. Amanda called in for back up and had all of them taken in. Chris called Ariana's parents and told them to meet her at the station to take Ariana home. She ripped her a new one for skipping school and worrying her mother half to death. She gave her water to try to sober her up and left her in the interview room in tears. Olivia was furious with how she'd handled the situation with the girl.

"Reyes" she came over to her fuming, "What the hell were you thinking? You don't talk to her like that. She's a victim" she said angrily.

"She's a teenager who skipped school, stayed out all day without calling her parents, and got drunk with a bunch of idiots she barely knows. Not to mention she got on my nerves all day. She's needs to know that I won't put up with it. Otherwise she'll just keep doing this over and over again" she said.

"Ok, the figurative heavy hand might've worked for you before but it's obviously not working anymore. She's a regular kid, who's scared and traumatized and she's having feelings of shame and guilt. She needs someone on her side to tell her that the rape wasn't her fault and that she can get through this. She doesn't need you yelling at her about what a screw up she is and...". By this point in her rant, Olivia was practically yelling.

"Ok, ok, ok. I got it" Reyes said shrugging out of her jacket. She unclipped her gun from her hip and returned it to her drawer. "I will talk to her. I'll...apologize". She pulled out her chair and sat down.

Olivia looked at her sideways, "Ummm...you just said you would go talk to her. Why are you sitting down?" she asked.

"Oh, I can't talk to her now with the crying and all. I'll just give her some time to calm down" she said logging into her laptop. "Reyes, get in there right. now." Olivia said flexing her authority. Chris let out a heavy sigh and shut her laptop. She got up from her chair and dragged herself over to the interview room to talk to Ariana. She opened the door and got the biggest death stare she'd ever gotten from anyone. She ignored it and pulled a chair around to sit down next to the teenager.

"Go away" she said still crying. "I don't want to talk to you". She hiccupped and sniffled and her hand shook as she held on to the cup of water that Chris had given her a while earlier.

"Ok, then you can just listen" Reyes said. She tried to soften her voice to let Ariana know that she wasn't there to come down on her again. "I'm sorry. I know this hard and..." Ariana was determined to be stubborn and test Chris to see if she was really sorry about what she'd said.

"No, you're not. You think I'm a stupid kid; that I'm a screw up. You think what happened to me was my fault" she yelled. She still had tears streaming down her face but she'd gotten control of her breathing and stopped sniffling. "It was, wasn't it? I shouldn't have taken those drinks. I was so stupid. And that's what you think too". Chris felt horrible that she made Ariana feel like the assault was her fault.

"Ariana that's not true. I don't think you're stupid. You're young and you just wanted to fit in and there's nothing wrong with that. Nothing you did that night was wrong, do you understand? This didn't happen because of anything you did. This happened because Mike Landry is a predator. Nothing about you or what you did that night would've changed that. Ariana, look at me". She waited but the girl wouldn't meet her eyes. "Please". She still refused to look at her. She just stared at the cup in her hands. "Ok, well just listen to me", she said seeing that she wouldn't give in, "This is going to be hard for you. It's gonna be hard for a while to trust people and to know who's on your side and to be confident in yourself and who you are and what you deserve but I want you to know that you are strong and you deserve the very best of everything...and I know that you can get through this. It won't be easy but you _can _get through this and things _will _get better. It might not seem like it now but I promise...it will get better" she said softly.

"No, I can't do this. I can't see him again. I don't want to go to court and talk about what he did to me in front of everyone, in front of my parents. Please I can't". She started sobbing again and Chris was losing her steam. She didn't know what she was doing. She was actually open to the idea of Benson coming in and taking over her but couldn't let her do that. Ariana had reached out to her. It'd been her that she'd opened up to about her assault and her that she'd been calling all day. She couldn't just pass her off to someone else.

"Yes, you can" she said. "You can do it...and I'll be right there with you. You don't have to go through this alone. You're stronger than you think you are. You survived the assault. You can survive the trial and everything that comes after. You cannot let him keep control of your life or make you live in fear. If you do, he wins". Ariana seemed to be listening to what she was saying. She started to calm down and drank the rest of her water.

"You really think I can do it?" she asked.

Chris nodded her head, "I know you can" she said simply. "And whenever you think you can't...you just take a deep breath and tell yourself "Si puedo". A small smile crossed her Ariana's lips and Chris relaxed knowing she'd managed to make the girl feel better. There was a knock on the door and Fin stuck his head, "Parents are here" she said. Reyes nodded and he backed out of the room, leaving the door slightly ajar. Reyes gave Ariana's shoulder a supportive squeeze before standing up and returning her chair to the other side of the table. Ariana stood up and they walked out of the room together. She walked over to her mother who took her in her arms and her father stood there with a stern look on his face.

"Señor Soto, ¿puedo tener un minuto por favor?" They walked over to the stand by the window and from the looks of it Chris was giving him another stern talking to about his attitude. A few minutes later when they returned to the group, Mr. Soto had a softer look on his face.

"You won't be going back to school tomorrow" he said looking at his daughter. "I'll go talk to your teachers, get your work. You don't have to go back until you're ready" he said nicely. Ariana gave a small smile and wrapped him in a hug and he returned it. They said there goodbyes and started to walk out of the squad room. Without any warning, Ariana turned around and ran back to Chris throwing her arms around her neck. Chris was caught completely off guard.

"Oh...ummm...ok" she said hesitantly returning her embrace.

Ariana slowly let go, "Thank you" she said with a shaky voice. Reyes just smiled and nodded her head. Ariana turned and walked out with her parents. After another hour they were calling it quits for the day.

"Hey". Reyes turned around to see Rollins standing next to her desk. "You wanna go get a drink or something" she asked. The thought of Rollins being attracted to her crept back into her mind. She really didn't want to deal with that kind of awkwardness.

"Ummm, I'm really not in the mood for a group drink" she said trying to decline nicely.

"No group" she said, "Just us". Reyes opened her drawer to get her gun out. _"That's even worse" _she thought to herself.

"I..." just as she was about to let Rollins down easy her phone started to ring. She looked at the caller id and saw it was her brother calling. She talked to him for a minute and Rollins got from the tenor of the side of the conversation that she could hear that Reyes had to go home. "I'm sorry. That was my brother. I have to get home" she said.

Rollins nodded her head, "Rain check?" she asked.

"Rain check". Reyes grabbed her bag and headed out the door. Rollins wasn't ready to go home yet so she asked Fin if he wanted to get a beer. He accepted and they left the squad room together.

The next day, Barba came into the squad room to talk to them about the little stunt that Ariana pulled the day before. He wasn't happy with her antics. He understood the "acting out" phase some victims went through but he didn't want her jeopardizing the trial. The defense would use anything they could to undercut her credibility.

"So, how bad was it?" he asked directing the question at Reyes.

"Not that bad" she said shrugging her shoulders.

"Care to elaborate, detective?".

She sat on top of the table in front of the large screen, "Not really". She pulled a piece from her bagel and popped it in her mouth.

Barba was about to say something but Rollins stepped forward, "She skipped school, met some kids while she wandering around the city, and decided to hang out with them. That's all" she said giving the elaboration he was asking for.

"Define hang out" he said.

"They sat on the front stoop of one their houses all day; drinking...maybe smoked a little pot".

Barba rubbed his forehead, "That's just great".

"Yeah, what does any of this have to do with her rape?" Reyes asked confused.

"The defense could use this to argue that she's a wild kid; likes drinking and experimenting with drugs..."

Chris rolled her eyes, "Oh please don't tell me y'all use that "pot is the gateway drug" argument out here" she said sitting her bagel on the table.

"It's just a way for the defense to throw dirt on her character" he said.

"Yeah. They don't have to believe their own drivel. They just have to sell it to a jury" Fin said clearly not a fan of defense tactics.

"Ok, that's cool. What does her character have to with her rape?" she said clearly not understanding the problem.

"Juries are less likely to believe victims that have a less than spotless background" Barba explained.

"So they don't believe anybody" she said.

"What about the kids she was found with?" Barba asked ignoring Reyes' comment. He didn't think she was taking this serious enough so he directed his questions to the rest of the team.

"Minor drug violations. The girl had the pot, the other two had cocaine. Small amounts, not distribution weight. I'd say they're just users". Chris answered just because she could tell that Barba didn't want to deal with her anymore.

"She couldn't find better kids to skip school with?" he asked a bit sarcastic.

"The "better kids" are the ones who _don't _skip school so probably not" Reyes answered not so sarcastically. Barba was clearly annoyed with her. "Ok, I'm just...listen, clearly I have a lot to learn but come on...you're telling me that a jury isn't gonna believe that she was drugged and raped because she skipped school, for the first time in her life I might add, had a few drinks and smoked pot with some local losers. I mean, doesn't the average teenager do that at least once?"

"This isn't about what the average teenager does. This is about Ariana and convicting her rapist. Her behavior matters. It shouldn't but it does. It's not right but it's reality. I need her behavior to be impeccable for the duration of the trial" he said in very serious tone. Reyes heard him loud and clear.

"I will relay the message" she said. Her tone was clear of any sarcasm so Barba knew she took him seriously.

"Thank you. I'll be calling to set up times with you three" he said gesturing to Reyes, Rollins and Amaro, "to do trial prep. That sarcasm thing you do all the time, not gonna fly with a jury, you understand?" he said looking at Reyes. She wasn't a fan of his fatherly tone but she decided to let it slide this time.

"Come on, juries love me...and my sarcasm". He looked at her sideways and she put her hands up in surrender, "Alright. I'll put it away". Barba turned and walked out of the squad room.

They took a few complaints throughout the rest of the day; two for domestic violence and a couple of suspicions of child abuse. One of the DV victims backed off her complaint but the other stuck it out and the boyfriend was arrested. It was a strong case so, assuming she didn't back out leading up to the trial, they were confident he'd be doing some jail time. The child abuse complaints turned up nothing; just normal injuries that active kids get. Reyes felt like she could last here, even if they didn't exactly like her yet. She had the ability to grow on people so she wasn't too worried. They decided to go out to a bar for some drinks after their shift. They crowded into a booth with Fin and Amanda on one side and Reyes, Amaro and Benson on the other. Reyes bought the first round.

"So, what do you think, rookie? You gonna stick around for a while?" Amaro asked grabbing a beer as the waitress sat it down on the table.

"I think I'm tired of you calling me rookie" she said grabbing a beer of her own and taking a drink. She ignore the second half of his question and waited for someone else to continue the conversation.

"I think you'll do alright here" Fin said, "You handled yourself pretty well on your first case".

Chris took another drink from her beer, "Yeah well, it's not over yet. Still plenty of time for me to screw it up" she joked. Olivia rolled her eyes. As impressed as she was with how Reyes handled the Soto parents and the interrogation with Landry it was all wiped away with how she'd handled Ariana's acting out. She thought she had one thing right: she had a lot of learning to do.

"You'll be fine" Rollins said giving her a small smile. She gave a small smile back but quickly looked away. She didn't want Rollins to think she was flirting with her.

Amanda wasn't at all attracted to women. She'd never even gone through an experimenting phase. She was straight, no doubts in her mind about that. Yet there was something about Reyes that really caught her attention and had her wanting to know more about her. She didn't know what it was but something had her interested. Maybe it was the way she carried herself. She had a certain swag in the way she walked and talked that got everyone's attention. She did it her first day at the precinct, when they went to dinner that first night, and she was doing it now. She had the attention of almost everyone in the bar. She was intriguing for sure and Rollins wanted to know more about her. She seemed to have a lot going on at home and Amanda thought they might have a lot in common outside of work. She wanted to let Reyes know that she could talk to her and it wouldn't hurt to have someone to hang out with when the work day was over.

"I gotta call it a night" Amaro said tapping Reyes on the shoulder. Reyes got up and let him out of the booth. "I'm gonna try to get some skype time with Zara before Maria puts her to bed", he said putting his jacket on.

"I'm gonna go too" Olivia said sliding out of the booth. "Brian just texted and he's on his way home. Haven't really seen him much in a few days with our crazy schedules". She put her jacket on and she and Amaro walked out together. Chris finished her beer and asked if they wanted another round. Rollins said yes. She didn't have anywhere better to be.

"I'll go for one more then I'm gonna get out of here" Fin said. Reyes got another round and Fin filled her in on how to finesse her way into Liv's good graces.

"Thanks for the advice but I honestly don't care about being in her good graces" she said bluntly.

"You sure that's the attitude you want to have?" he asked her. Fin liked her just fine. She seemed like a cool person and she was proving herself to be a good detective. But Olivia wasn't so easy to please. He didn't think that Reyes' attitude was a good one in trying to build a relationship with Olivia, even if it was just a work relationship.

"That's the kind of attitude she has. She doesn't know me. She doesn't know anything about me but she's decided already that she doesn't like me. I'm not really fond of people like that" she said bringing her beer to her lips.

"Whether you like it or not, you are the newbie. You have to prove yourself just like any other rookie would" Fin said finishing his beer.

"I'm fine with proving myself if she's willing to give me the chance. She wasn't. She wanted me to sit at my desk and keep my mouth shut". She knew she hadn't completely won Benson over yet but if she was being honest, that wasn't her priority. She wasn't going to lie to Tutuola and Rollins about that to stay on their good side, either. Fin explained to her that Benson had gone through a lot of changes and hardships in a short period of time and asked that she be patient with her. Reyes decided she'd try to put herself in Benson's shoes and be understanding of where she was coming from. Fin said his goodbyes and left Rollins and Reyes alone at the bar.

"So, Rollins, what's the deal? Why do you like me so much?" she asked. She wanted to get right to the point and figure out why Amanda's guard wasn't up like Benson and Amaro's.

"Never said I liked you" she joked.

Reyes laughed and finished her beer, "Touche" she said.

"No, I just...I know what it's like to be the new girl" she said in a serious tone. "I figured I'd give you a chance, get to know you before I decided you were no good". Chris appreciated that about Rollins. She could've been like Benson and Amaro and decided to put her through the ringer to see if she could take the heat but she decided to just give her an easy chance, allow her to do her job, and show her what she was about. "So, you moved here with your family?" Amanda asked, thinking she'd start getting to know her better right then.

"Uh, yeah. Mom, dad, sister, brother. Whole gang" she said. She was debating whether she wanted to get another beer. If she got another then that meant she'd stay and talk for a while. If she didn't then she'd ease her way out of the conversation. Before she could decide, Rollins ordered another for herself and asked she wanted one. She couldn't say no now. "What about you? You said you're from Georgia. Why'd you come up here?" Rollins gripped her glass a little tighter and Reyes wondered if she'd asked the wrong question.

"Uh, just needed a fresh start. Had a lot of drama back home, you know?". She thought it was too soon to tell her the whole truth about why'd she left.

"Yeah, I do" Chris said conveying her understanding. "If there's one thing my family knows, it's drama".

They stayed at the bar for another two hours or so. They talked about everything from family and how they'd grown up to sports; any and everything they could think of. They both had a feeling that they would be fast friends. They both got hit on all night by both men and women testing the waters to see if they were together. They finally settled up their tab and walked out of the bar together. Amanda got a cab but Chris said she wanted to walk. She liked the fresh air. Rollins laughed at her calling New York air fresh. Reyes reminded her that she was from Cali where the exhaust was thick. New York was big and definitely had a lot of exhaust but breathing here just felt easier. Rollins made her promise to call her when she got in to let her know she'd made it safely. They said their good nights and parted ways.

Spanish-English Translation

**Señora Soto, más despacio. No puedo entender**- Mrs. Soto, slow. I can't understand you.

**Por favor. Necesito que te calmes y que me escuches. Vete a casa y esperar allí. Voy a encontrarla. ¿Entiendes? Encontraré Ariana**- Please. I need y to calm down and listen to me. Go home and wait there. I will look for her. You understand? I will look for Ariana.

**Señor Soto, ¿puedo tener un minuto por favor**- Mr. Soto, can I have a minute please?


	6. Chapter 6: Jessica and Rachel Mullins

Chapter 6: Jessica and Rachel Mullins

After she left the bar with Amanda, Chris called Ryanne, the waitress she'd met at the restaurant they'd went to earlier that week. She went over to the restaurant and waited for her shift to end and they walked back to Chris' house together. She'd made the call to Amanda as promised and then turned all her attention to her guest. They'd been in bed pleasuring each other for hours when her phone started to ring over the soft music she had playing in her bedroom. She tried to ignore it and enjoy what Ryanne was doing to her under the covers but it wouldn't stop ringing. She told her to stop and reached over and grabbed her phone.

"Reyes" she answered not even trying to hide the annoyance in her voice. "Where?" Ryanne kept kissing her on chest and neck and licking her ear. "Yeah, ok. I'm on my way". She hung up the phone was immediately met with her bedmate's lips on her own. "I have to go" she said in between kisses.

"Humm...right now" she whined placing chaste kisses on Chris' lips.

"Yes, right now. I have to go to work". Chris didn't want to be rude but she needed to get this girl out of her house so she could leave. There was no way she was going to stay while she went to work.

"But it's like...four in the morning" she said still placing kissing up and down Chris' neck.

"Yeah, well criminals don't care about the time. Come on, I really have to go" she said lightly pushing her off of her. She got out of the bed and started to gather her clothes for her. "I need to shower really quick but I can drop you somewhere if you want". She handed Ryanne her clothes and waited for a response.

"No, that's ok. I'll just call a cab" she said as she pulled her clothes on. Chris could tell that her feelings were hurt but she didn't have time to think about it and if she was being honest with herself she really didn't care. She just nodded and left her room to go hop in the shower.

Chris came back ten minutes later to an empty bedroom. She moisturized her golden toned skin and put on black jeans and belt, a gray top with a black jacket and gray boots. She pulled her hair back in a low ponytail and clipped on her badge and gun. She grabbed her phone and keys and quietly headed out the door. When she stepped out onto the porch, Ryanne was sitting there waiting for her cab. She sat down next to her, "I don't mind driving you home, Ry" she said.

She shook her head, "It's fine. I already called the cab. It's five minutes away" she said not even looking at her. This was the part that Chris hated, feelings. She was never good with dealing with people's feelings so she just didn't.

"Ok, well, I...I have to go. I will...ummm...I'll call you, ok?" Ryanne still wouldn't look at her.

"Yeah right" she said not believing her. Chris just got up and went to her car. Ryanne's cab pulled up just as she drove away from her house.

She drove to hell's kitchen and met up with Fin and Amanda. The area was full of police cars, a fire truck and two ambulances. A crowd was starting to gather and uniformed officers were trying to keep them behind the crime scene tape. Chris showed her badge and ducked under the tape to go over to her partners. She tried to get a look at the scene but there was too many people surrounding the area. "Hey" she said seeing Fin and Amanda standing next to the fire truck, "What's going on?" she asked.

"Got two bodies, females, badly burned" Fin explained.

"Why is this ours?" she asked confused. She knew that SVU only hadn't sexually motivated crimes. Two burns victims would go to homicide.

"They were stripped naked before they were set on fire. They might have been raped. The ME is taking a look now to see if we'll be able to get anything from the bodies" Amanda said jumping in. Chris turned around to face the chaos surrounding the scene and saw a black women with curly hair approaching them.

"Whatcha got, doc?" Fin asked as she reached them.

"Well, you got lucky" she said,"Their backs are completely charred but everything else is intact. I'd say they were already dead when they were set on fire. They were badly beaten and raped. I found fluids on both women, took swabs. They're already on the way to the lab" she said explaining her findings.

"Any identifying marks: tattoos, birth marks, scars?" Chris asked. They'd been yet to be properly introduced so Rollins did the honors.

"Dr. Melinda Warner, this is detective Christina Reyes. She filling Liv's spot now that she's been promoted to Sergeant" she said making the introductions. They shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

"There weren't any marks that I'd could see but I'll be able to tell more once they're on the table. I did get this off one of them though". She held up a bag with a silver medical bracelet inside. "She was a diabetic" she said handing it to Reyes.

"Any chance we can get in there?" she said looking over at the area surrounded by fire fighters.

"It took me twenty minutes to get them to let me examine the bodies. Good luck" Warner said as she turned and walked away. Chris decided she'd go over and try to talk her way over to look at the scene.

"Excuse me" she said showing her badge, "I know you have to secure the area, make sure there are no other fire hazards but is there any chance we could go over there and look around" she asked one of the fire fighters. She put on a sweet tone hoping to win him over.

"Like you said detective, we have to secure the area first" he said.

"Ah, come on. There's nothing here. They're already dead. It was a small fire set to two bodies. The blaze is gone. We just want to look for any identification, find out who they are, notify their families...please" she said nicely. Rollins stood behind and watched while she tried to sweet talk her way into the cordoned off area.

"Alright but make it quick" he said stepping aside and letting them pass. "Thanks". She and Rollins stepped over to get their first look at the bodies.

The smell of gasoline and burnt flesh filled their nostrils. Fin brought them both pairs of gloves to put on so they wouldn't contaminate anything. They checked the area around the bodies for purses or wallets. It was a long shot that they'd find anything but they had to try. Reyes spotted the dumpster for the shop that the women's bodies were dumped behind and jumped up on the edge, holding herself up on her hands, to peer inside. She saw a white trash bag in the midst of only black which told her that it didn't belong. She quickly reached in and grabbed it and hopped back to the ground. She sat the bag on the ground and opened it up to see clothes and purses inside. She yelled for Rollins to come and see what she'd found. "Has to be our vics" she said showing her the clothes and bags. Rollins pulled out one of the purses and opened it up, taking out a wallet.

"Jessica Mullins" she said reading the driver's license aloud. Chris grabbed the other bag and found a second wallet. She opened it up and found a student id,

"They look like mother and daughter to you?" Reyes asked. Rollins peered over her shoulder at the two bodies laying on the pavement.

She shook her head, "Look to be around the same age. Why?" Chris held up the id for her to see, "Rachel Mullins" Rollins said reading the id. "So, they're related. What do you think, sisters?" she asked. "

Or not sisters" Reyes said walking over to the bodies. Rollins grabbed the trash bag and put the purses back inside before following Reyes over to the victims were now covered with white sheets. She was kneeling down beside them, lifting the sheet to look at something. "Tan lines on both ring fingers" she said. She dropped the sheet back down and stood up.

"They were married" Fin said understanding their connection. They took off their gloves and stepped out of the area and let the fire fighters finish up. Rollins handed the bag to CSU and told them to voucher the contents and dust the wallets and that dumpster for prints. As they were leaving, the fire department finally finished and were allowing the bodies to be transported to the ME's office. Rollins, Reyes, and Tutuola headed to the precinct.

It was nearing eight o'clock when Benson and Amaro arrived at the precinct. Fin, Amanda, and Chris had waited a while to get their victim info and what they knew about the crime so far put up on the board before calling them in. They'd also gone ahead and taken care of the notifications. Reyes was sitting at her desk when they came in and Olivia was ready for her and Amaro to be brought up to speed. They gathered at the table in front of the board and waited for Reyes to join them. She was making a quick call home to make sure her brother had gotten up for work and her sister was up getting ready for school. She told her brother to make sure he put their mother's medicine out for her before he left. She hung up the phone and went over to the group giving her apologies for the delay.

"Alright, what have we got?" Cragen asked getting them started.

"Two females, Jessica and Rachel Mullins, 35 and 30 years old, both average women, educated, fit, and friendly from what I can tell from their social media. Jessica was a bank teller and Rachel was a student at Hudson. She was taking psychology classes. She was also a fitness coach. She ran classes out of a small studio that she rented" Rollins said starting the briefing. "Both women were beaten and raped, throats cut. They were dumped in Hell's kitchen and set on fire. ME puts time of death at around one this morning. Their backs were pretty badly burned but their fronts were mostly untouched by the fire so she was able to get DNA. Ran it through the system, no hits" she finished.

"How'd we id them? Were their prints in the system?" Amaro asked.

Reyes shook her head, "No. They were stripped naked but we found their clothes and wallets in a dumpster nearby. CSU wasn't able to lift any prints" she explained.

"So they're sisters, mother and daughter, what?"

"Wife and wife" Reyes said. "We saw tan lines on both women's ring fingers". Reyes sat on the table working on her second cup of coffee of the morning. She'd been the one to put up the pictures of the victims and write everything up on the board. She'd been doing a lot of thinking about what they looking at and where this case might go but she'd yet to share her thoughts. She was just waiting for the right time.

"Have we located the families?" Cragen asked. That was one of the worst parts of the job. Notifying family members of a death was always hard but it was necessary. Not just for the obvious reasons but families could often offered insight into victims: who they were, who they associated with, who might want to hurt them.

"Jessica's parents died five years ago, car accident" Fin said, "She has a brother though, lives in Jersey. Called him an hour ago, he's making the drive up to claim the body. Rachel and her family were on rocky terms since she came out seven years ago. When she married Jessica two and half years ago they cut off contact completely. They're religious and didn't want to have anything to do with her "sinful lifestyle". They said to release the body to Jessica's family" he explained.

"They won't even come in to id her? No funeral? Nothing?" Amaro said in disbelief.

"No. When we told them she was murdered her father said he wasn't surprised because of the life she was living. They didn't want to have anything to do with her then and they don't want to have anything to do with her now". Olivia closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Ok" she said with a sigh. "So we have two women, who were beaten, raped, stripped naked, dumped and then set on fire. We have fluids but no hits in the system, no prints on the dumpster, clothes or wallets, one brother who could possibly give insight into the victims, and the other family who won't be able to give any insight because they hadn't had a relationship with her in seven years. That's not a lot to go on" she said.

"Reyes" Cragen said trying to get her attention. He noticed that she was kind of staring off into space and he wanted to bring her back to earth. "Reyes" he repeated. She slowly gained her focus back.

"Yeah" she answered.

"You want to share that daydream with the rest of us?" he teased.

"Yeah, actually, I do...but not right now" she added quickly. He gave a weird look and folded his arms over his chest. "I just want to get my thoughts together before I share" she explained. That was true but she had a theory about where this case was going to go and she wanted more evidence to back it up before she opened her big mouth. She'd been thinking about what Fin said about being a rookie and having to prove herself. She didn't care if they liked her personally but she cared about doing her job and doing it well. If they didn't appreciate anything else about her, she knew they'd appreciate that.

A man walked through the squad room doors and came over to them. He looked tired and his eyes were red and puffy like he'd been crying. He took off his baseball cap and held it tightly in his hands. "Excuse me" he said getting their attention, "I'm looking for Detective Reyes". Chris hopped down off the table and walked over to him.

"Hi, I'm Detective Reyes" she said extending her hand, "You must be Jessica's brother".

He shook her hand and nodded, "Robert Mullins" he said. Upon hearing that he was the victim's brother, Rollins turned the board around so he wouldn't see the crime scene photos of his sister that they'd taped up.

"Why don't we go in here and talk?" she said putting a hand on his shoulder."Can I get you some coffee or water?" she asked nicely.

He pulled away from her touch, "Uh, no. I'd like to see Jessica now...please". His voice broke slightly when he said his sister's name. Chris wasn't sure what to say. She hadn't done much dealing with notifications and identifications or families in general when she worked narcotics.

"Uh, I...I really don't think that's a good idea. You should remember her the way she was, not how she is now" she said in the nicest way possible.

"What do you mean how she is now?" he asked confused. Reyes looked at him sympathetically. "Oh my god" he said, his eyes filling with tears, "What'd he do to her?" he asked. He was beginning to become hysterical and Reyes wasn't sure what to do or say. She wasn't exactly good at the whole comforting thing. She was making this up as she went along.

"Why don't we go in here and sit down and we can talk about it?" she asked. She wanted to give him the option to decline her offer to talk. Ultimately it was up to him whether he stayed at the precinct or went to view his sister's body. The rest of them sat quietly and watched as Reyes tried to console the man and get him to the interview room. They were surprised at how much compassion she was showing given the whole Ariana debacle. After a moment of thought, Robert nodded his head and walked over to the interview with Christina. She came out a minute later and went over to the coffee pot, poured a cup and stop by the group.

"Sooo...I don't really know what I'm doing. I was kinda winging that but I feel like it went well and I wanna try to talk to him by myself". She was directing this comment towards the Captain because, after all, it was his decision. But she interested to know if she'd have the support of everyone else.

"Well, you really shouldn't wing it" Olivia said.

"Yeah, you need to know what you're gonna say to him before you go in there" Amaro said agreeing. It was surprising to her that they didn't object to her going it alone but rather just gave her a few tips. Rollins and Fin jumped in with their two cents and Reyes listened attentively. She really didn't want to screw this up. The man had just lost his sister and she didn't want to make him feel any worse. After hearing what everyone had to say, she took a deep breath, grabbed the cup of coffee and went to talk to Jessica Mullins' brother.

Reyes got all of the information she could out of Robert Mullins about his sister and her wife. He told her that Rachel had basically become part of their family when she and Jessica started dating five years ago, just a few months before their parents' death. Rachel had been Jessica's rock through the entire ordeal. It made them closer. Jessica supported Rachel through her family troubles, returning the favor of being a rock when her family cut her off upon their engagement. It was a kind of death for her, losing her whole family. They became the people she counted on to be there for her. After some time, she decided that if they didn't want to see her, it was their loss. She wouldn't let them or their beliefs make her feel bad about who she was or who she loved. He told her about how happy they were, how much fun they had together, what a difference he'd seen in his sister since she met Rachel. They made each other better people. Robert gave Reyes a list of places that they frequented around the city and friends of theirs that could shed more light on who the women were. Chris had tried to hold off for as long as possible on telling Robert about what'd happened to his sister but she'd asked him all of her questions and he was asking to see his sister again. She explained as gently as she could what his sister and her wife had gone through but the words hit him like a ton of bricks. He became hysterical and kept asking her why anyone would do that to them. She couldn't answer him. After about five minutes she was able to calm him down and had an officer escort him to his hotel to get settled in.

They gathered again in front of the board to discuss what they're next move was. They split up the list of friends the brother had given them and went out to do interviews. The captain paired Fin with Rollins and Amaro with Reyes while Olivia went over to the ME's office to see if her autopsy had turned up anything else they could use. They did their interviews and met up for lunch to discuss what they'd found out.

"The ME didn't turn up anything new. They were both beaten and raped. She confirmed that they were both dead when they were set on fire. Not a professional, the cut to their throats weren't clean. They were jagged...almost hesistant" Olivia said explaining Warner's findings.

"Like he'd never done it before" Reyes added. They looked at her confused.

"What makes you think that?" Fin asked sipping on his soda.

"Hesitant wound patterns usually indicate an inexperienced offender. And his MO is really specific; beaten, raped, throats cut, stripped naked and set on fire. If he'd been done this before he'd be in the system" she said taking a drink of her coffee.

"Maybe he's just never gotten caught" Amaro said.

"Yeah but he leaves his DNA behind so we would've gotten matches from other cases logged in the system. He doesn't use any counterforensic measures because he knows we can't match it to anything".

"Well, that still leaves us with nothing. What'd you guys get from your interviews?" Olivia asked picking at the salad in front of her.

"Pretty much the same thing from everyone", Rollins said jumping in, "They were great people; a fun, loving couple. Nobody could think of anyone who'd want to hurt them" she said.

"Ditto" Reyes said giving what they'd gotten from they're interviews.

"So we have nothing to go on" she said obviously frustrated.

"We could go to some of the places they went to regularly" Reyes suggested, "See if they had altercations with anyone in the last few weeks". They agreed that would be their next objective. Reyes pulled out her notepad with the list of places Robert had given her and split them evenly between them. They split up again, Benson joining Amaro and Reyes, and went to do more interviews. Again, they came up empty. Nobody remembered Rachel or Jessica having any problems with anyone in the weeks leading up to their deaths. Everyone seemed shocked to hear that they'd been murdered. They'd lost count of how many times they heard "everyone loved them" throughout the day. They returned to the station around nine in the evening and updated the captain. They all agreed that there was nothing else they could do tonight. They wrapped up paperwork for their day of interviews and then called it a night.


	7. Chapter 7: Lauren and Isabelle Conard

Chapter 7: Lauren and Isabelle Conard

It was going on two o'clock in the morning and Reyes was laying in bed. She'd finally gotten her brain to slow down enough to close her eyes and try to sleep. She was starting to drift off when her phone chimed on the stand next to her bed. _"Urgh, You have got to be kidding me"_ she thought in frustration. She rolled over and grabbed her phone, hitting the unlock code and looking at her screen. She had a text from Sgt Benson of an address telling her to get there right away. After a few more groans she threw back the covers and got out of bed. She quickly got dressed and grabbed her phone and keys and headed out the door. When she got to the address, there was a very familiar scene: crowd gathering, uniformed officers and crime scene tape, fire truck, ambulances, another alley in Hell's Kitchen. She spotted the team standing outside the crime scene tape looking at the scene. She hustled over where they were standing.

"Don't tell me..." she said looking at Rollins.

"Two more bodies, set on fire. They're securing the area now" she said confirming her suspicions. Reyes didn't want to think it but she couldn't help it. More bodies is what they needed. The fact was, they didn't have much of anything to go on from the Mullins' crime scene and they wouldn't get anything more if this guy didn't give them more victims. A fire fighter walked over to where they standing, "Scene's clear. You can go in now" he said continuing past them to the fire truck. They ducked under the crime scene tape to get a closer look at the bodies. Dr. Warner had already beat them there and was taking her first look at the victims.

"Burns aren't as bad as the first two victims" Reyes said as she looked down at them.

Warner nodded, "Someone spotted the blaze not long after it was set. He went for help and they put out they blaze together" she explained. Rollins walked over to them holding a white trash bag, the same a the one dumped at the first scene.

"Same thing" she said approaching them, "Clothes and wallets inside. They're names are Lauren and Isabelle Conard. Both thirty four years old. Found business cards in their wallets; they worked together, paralegals".

"Are there tan lines on their ring fingers?" Reyes asked. Melinda looked at both women's hands and nodded her head. "Took their wedding rings again" she said softly. She inhaled slowly and let it out in a huff. If she wasn't sure about her theory before, she was definitely sure about it now. Melinda and her assistants bagged up the bodies and loaded them for transport to the morgue.

"I'll let you know what more I find" she said before turning and leaving the scene. Benson, Amaro, and Tutuola walked over to Rollins and Reyes.

"CSU is dusting the dumpster for prints" Amaro said stopping in front of them.

"They won't get anything but I think I know what this is about" Reyes said. She looked around the alley with laser sharp focus for something, anything, that would give them more on their perp.

"What?" Fin asked. Out of nowhere something caught her eye. There was movement behind some bags of trash not far from where the bodies were left. Ignoring Fin's question, she walked over to a makeshift shelter and kneeled down to talk to whoever was inside.

"Excuse me" she said nicely, "Can you come out here. I don't want to hassle you. I just want to talk to you for a second". She waited for whoever was in there to make a decision about coming out or not. She saw a hand creep out from underneath the blanket covering the cardboard roof and push it to the side. A young guy, no more than eighteen years old, stuck his head out and scared brown eyes looked into Chris' caring greens. "Hi" she said with a soft smile, "What's your name?" He just stared at her for a second then decided she seemed nice enough to trust her.

"Donnie" he answered softly.

"Hi, Donnie. I'm Christina. You know about what's going on over there?" She asked as gently as she could, not wanting him to think she was accusing him.

"I didn't do anything" he said defensively.

She nodded her head, "Yeah, but maybe you saw something". He was shivering from the morning cold and from the looks of it didn't have much clothing on to make it better.

"White guy, crazy. Threw away a big white bag then he walked away. I saw the flames, then I heard yelling. I didn't want to come out. I was too scared".

Chris and nodded her head, "Ok. Thank you, Donnie" she said nicely. He nodded his head and started to go back inside his cardboard home. His hand was frail and shaking uncontrollably. Chris felt so much for him. "Hey" she said catching him before he retreated completely inside his shelter, "How about you come out of there and come back to the station with me" she suggested.

"Nuh uh" he said shaking his head from side to side.

"You can get a nice, warm shower and some fresh, warm clothes; a nice hot meal. Whatever you want, it's on me. Come on, it's freezing out here". He thought about her offer for a moment before finally crawling out of the small space. Just as Reyes suspected, his clothes were worn and tattered and he was incredibly thin. She led him over to one of the squad cars and told one of the officers to drive him to the station, get him some clothes and a shower and she'd be there shortly. It took some doing but she convinced Donnie to let the officer drive him and she would meet him there. She walked back over and joined her teammates.

"He see anything?" Fin asked as she joined their huddle.

"Crazy white guy. Said he saw him dump the bag and then there was fire. He was too scared to come out".

Benson nodded her head, "Well it's something. We'll sit him down with a sketch artist, see what he can come up with. Let's get back to the station and add them to the victim work up and start tracking down their families". They dispersed to their cars and made their back to the precinct. When they arrived back at the precinct, Reyes checked the interview rooms, looking for Donnie. He was nowhere to be found. She spotted the officer she'd told to drive him back.

"Hey" she said getting his attention, "Where's the kid you drove here?" she asked.

"Oh, he's in the lockup" he said nonchalantly.

"What?!" She immediately went from zero to ten on the pissed off meter.

The officer looked dumbfounded, "You said to escort him back to the station. I put him in lockup so he wouldn't try to run off" he explained.

"I told you to do a couple of things and putting him in a holding cell wasn't one of them" she said angrily.

"Look, girlie, he's a vagrant and he was mouthing off. I thought I was doing you a favor". If Chris were a cartoon there would have been steam coming out of her ears. She walked over to the officer and got in his face.

"First of all, if you ever refer to me as "girlie" again I will fuck up your life in every way I can possibly think of. Second, if you ever want to want to go on patrol again, you will go get him and do what I told you to do when I told you to bring him here". Her voice was calm, almost eerie and she'd gained the attention of everyone in the squad room. No one thought the officer should call her bluff. He backed away from her and headed to the lockup to get her witness. She turned around and saw everyone staring at her, "Get back to work" she said. Instantly, people started moving about the squad room again, resuming their tasks. Olivia, Nick, Fin nor Amanda said anything to her about what'd just happened. They just continued to fill the board with information and search the victims' closest relatives. Benson sent Amaro to their address to look around and see what he could find; anything to help them learn more about the victims.

After Donnie was showered and dressed in fresh, warm clothes, Reyes set him up in the interview room across from Cragen's office and asked him what he wanted to eat. "Breakfast" he replied. She laughed and asked what he wanted for breakfast. He seemed surprised that she was letting him choose specifically what he wanted to eat. He said pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, hash browns, and grits with apple juice. He looked like he was waiting for her to say that he was asking for too much and was stunned when she didn't. Reyes left the interview room to go take care of his breakfast. She almost told the uniformed officer that'd pissed her off to go get it but she didn't trust him not to do something to the food. Instead she got on her computer and found a place that had everything Donnie wanted and also delivered. She ordered a bunch of extra everything for herself and the rest of the team and got an estimated delivery time of forty minutes. While she was waiting for the food to arrive she went in the interview room with Benson to question Donnie about what he saw in the alley.

"Donnie, this is Sergeant Benson. We're just gonna ask you some questions about what you saw, ok?" He nodded his head and clutched the cup of coffee Chris had given him. "Ok. So, first things first. What's your whole name and how old are you?" she asked.

"Donald Hanover. I'm seventeen" he said quietly.

"How'd you end up out on the streets?" It wasn't something he liked talking about. He was always nervous that people would treat him badly. But he liked Chris, trusted her. He felt like he could tell her. "

I'm gay. My parents weren't happy when they found out; said they couldn't have me around my younger brother. They were worried I might rub off on him or something. So they told me to get lost. I was at a shelter for a while but the people there weren't very nice. They'd try to beat me up and take my stuff. So I left and I haven't been to another one". It pained Reyes to know that parents could just toss their kids to the side because they didn't like who they turned out to be. Parents are supposed to be the ones to love you no matter what.

"How long ago was that?" she asked.

"When my parents kicked me out; six months...almost seven. About five since I stopped trying to find a good shelter. That alley was best place I'd found so far. I've been there for almost a month".

"Ok, Donnie. Let's talk about the man you saw in the alley" Olivia said jumping in. "You said he was white and crazy?"

He nodded his head, "Yeah, maybe forty; not too tall. Wore jeans and a black hoodie. I didn't want to look for too long. I didn't want him to notice I was there. He just tossed the bag in the dumpster and walked away".

"What made you think he was crazy?" Reyes asked.

"He was talking to himself. Spouting all kinds of religious stuff. The kind of stuff my parents said when they kicked me out; about abominations and going to hell". This was just what Reyes needed to hear to confirm her theory. She was ready to share her thoughts with the group. There was a knock at the door and Rollins walked in with the sketch artist in tow.

"Donnie, this is Rick. He's a sketch artist. I want you to describe the man you saw to him" Benson said getting up and letting Rick take her place.

"I told you, I didn't really get a good look" he said.

"It's ok" Chris said reassuring him,"Just do the best you can". She got up from the table and walked out with Olivia and Amanda to gather at the table in front of the board.

Captain Cragen came out of his office and stood next to the board. "Alright, so we've got two more bodies and a witness who may be able to give a description. Any more physical evidence on the bodies?" he asked.

"Same as the first vics" Amanda said, "Fluids present but useless because he's not in the system". Reyes stared at the board and thought about what Donnie said about what he heard the perp saying. She decided she was ready to share her theory with the group.

"Great, so we're no closer to catching him and don't have any theories about who this guy is or why he's doing this" Cragen said not pleased by their lack of progress.

"It's a hate crime" Reyes said, confident that her theory about this was correct.

"What makes you think that?" Fin asked.

"He's attacking married lesbian couples. Donnie heard him rambling about them being abominations and sending them to hell. He's making a statement with how kills them" she said explaining why she thought so. "A lot of people think that they can beat the gay out of their kids. How often, when a lesbian is raped, does her rapist say he did it to "fix that gay gene"? Stripping them to humiliate them and then setting them on fire in Hell's Kitchen ie. burning in hell".

"Maybe he set them in fire to make them suffer" Amaro suggested. Reyes shook her head in disagreement.

"If he wanted them to suffer he would burn them alive but he kills them first. It's symbolic of the flames of hell" she said using air quotes. "He took the time to strip them naked and then left everything behind. Everything except their wedding rings. He's stripping them of their marriage. He's probably proud of what he's doing, thinks he's on a mission to rid the world of married lesbian sin".

"That's a pretty good behavioral analysis detective" said a voice familiar to everyone. They all looked in the direction of the voice and seemed happy to see him. Reyes pretended not to know who he was. They said their hellos and he took a seat at the table.

"Chris Reyes this is Dr. George Huang, a forensic psychiatrist with the FBI" Cragen said introducing them. They shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.

"I think you hit it right on the nose, detective" he said agreeing with her. "Olivia sent me what you all have gathered so far and I took a look. I'd also add to what Detective Reyes has said by saying that he doesn't care if he gets caught" he said.

"What makes you think that?" Fin asked again. He didn't know where Reyes and Huang were coming up with their theories.

"He leaves his DNA behind" Reyes said answering for the doctor. Dr. Huang nodded his head in agreement.

"Even though he knows that he'll be easily linked to the crimes from the evidence he leaves behind, he's not taking any steps to cover his tracts. He doesn't think he's doing anything wrong" he said.

"So he's delusional" Fin concluded.

Reyes chuckled, "Well, I think that goes without saying" she said picking up her coffee and taking a sip. "But I think it's personal too" she said.

"Wait. How'd it become personal now? I mean, we've gone over the backgrounds of the victims; searched through their apartments. They don't have much in common except they sometimes hit the same bars but that's not unusual, right? Aren't there only a few lesbian bars in the city?" he asked looking at Reyes.

"Why are you asking me?" she asked a bit offended that he just assumed she knew how many lesbian bars there were.

"I wasn't asking you specifically. I was just posing the question...to the group" he said covering his ass.

"Yeah, sure you were".

"Ok, moving on" Cragen said ending the little spat. "Is she right, doc? You think there's something personal in his motive?" he asked the expert.

"I think there's definitely a strong possibility of a personal agenda" he said nodding his head.

"Uh, care to elaborate on that?" Amanda asked leaning on the back of a chair.

He turned and looked at Christina, "Detective" he said inviting her the chance to expand on her theory.

"He has a type" she said simply. They all turned and looked at the pictures of the victims, noticing the pattern for the first time. "Lauren and Jessica both have dark hair and green eyes. Isabelle and Rachel, blonde hair and blue eyes. A type usually means that they represent something, or someone. Most likely someone he fells hurt or betrayed him. The religious aspect is just the excuse he gives himself to act out his revenge". Dr. Huang was noticeably impressed by how spot on Reyes' analysis of the case was. He almost wanted to pull her to the side and ask her what she thought about joining the FBI. The door to the interrogation room opened and Rick, the sketch artist, walked out. He went over to Olivia and handed her the sketch he'd worked up with Donnie and she taped it up on the board. It wasn't the best but it was something. The guy looked how Donnie had described him; white, early to mid forties, short hair, no visible tattoos or scars.

"Great. This is a sketch of more than half the men in the city" Fin said. They were all frustrated with how this investigation was going. They had a working theory of the crime and not much else. They were in desperate need of a break in the case.

"Yeah, well, ugh, he did say he didn't get a good look" Reyes said. She was just as frustrated as everyone else but their lack of progress wasn't Donnie's fault. He'd done his best to help them which was a lot more than what he had to do.

A delivery man walked into the squad room, "Is there a Chris Reyes here?" he asked holding three large bags. She hopped down from the table, "Yeah. That's me". She walked over to her desk and grabbed her wallet to pay for the food. "It'll be fifty four eighty" he said giving her the total. She handed him three twenties and a five, "Keep the change" she said trading him the money for the bags. He thanked her and then left. She carried the food over to the table and took it out of the bags. They'd put a bunch of extra plates, napkins, and plastic spoons and forks in one of the bags. She set everything out and told them to help themselves before taking a box container and the bottle of apple juice then heading to the interview room. They all looked around stunned for a minute before Fin stepped up and grabbed a plate.

"What?" he said noticing them staring at him. "She said to help ourselves". They laughed and them joined him in getting some of the breakfast food. Chris gave Donnie his breakfast and thanked him for helping them out on the case. She told him they'd figure out something for him but she didn't want him staying on the streets anymore. She promised to keep working with him until they found the right place. She left him to enjoy his breakfast and joined everyone back in the squad room. They sat around the table tossing out their ideas of things they could do to close down on this perp. George took this opportunity to chat up Reyes.

"You really have great insight into this perp already. Almost as if you're an experienced profiler" he said complimenting her.

"I might have taken a seminar or two back in California" she said.

"Well, whoever taught it did well".

She smiled, "Yeah, you did". She smiled at the blush that came over him. She knew it wasn't because he was modest about his work but embarrassment that he didn't remember her. "Don't worry about it. It was a big room and I sat way in the back". She got up from the table to go throw her plate away and came back with her phone and laptop. She did a search of shelters and group homes specifically for kids in Donnie's situation and started making phone calls to find him a place to stay.

Fin overheard Chris on the phone and offered her a solution. He told her about his son, Ken, who worked at a group home for gay teens put out on the streets by their parents. He said he'd give him a call to see about getting Donnie a spot there. They finished breakfast and cleaned up all the bags and boxes. Captain Cragen heard his phone ringing in his office and went to take the call. He came back a few minutes later with a solemn look on his face, "We got two more bodies".


	8. Chapter 8: Hallie and Kaitlyn Darnell

**AN: Hey all! So I'm not getting a lot of feedback on this story but I do seem to getting some follows so that's great. Please review. I like to know what readers are thinking about the direction the story is going. All (positive) criticism and suggestions are welcomed. If you don't like it, tell me (and tell me why please) and I'll try to fix it. If you do like it, tell me that too and I'll keep doing what I'm doing but please give me something. So, here's more and I hope you all like it.**

Chapter 8: Hallie and Kaitlyn Darnell

The scene was the same as the two before it. Two women, stripped naked, throats cut, set on fire. He left the same white trash bag with all of their belongings, except their wedding rings. They'd found a receipt for a gay friendly cafe in a wallet belonging to Hallie Darnell, time stamped seven am. They figured he must have grabbed them when they were leaving. They'd done the family notifications and interviewed close friends of the victims and gone through the victims apartment to learn more about them. Hallie was an investment banker and her wife, Kaitlyn, was a first grade teacher. They were, by all accounts, the perfect couple; high school sweethearts who went to college together and then got married shortly after they both graduated. They had nothing in common with the other couples other than a couple popular gay friendly hangouts around the city and of course they fit the perps type. Hallie was a brunette with green eyes and Kaitlyn had blonde hair and blue eyes. He'd been careful to conceal himself, leaving the bodies further back in the alley. Even in broad daylight, no one recognized him. He'd had his hood up so no one could make out his face, just a middle aged white man. He always managed to be one step ahead of them. They figured their best chance at catching the perp was figuring out how he picked his victims.

It was going on four in the afternoon when they got back to the station. A crowd of people had formed outside with signs demanding justice and others condemning the victims to hell. Uniformed officers set up barricades to keep them off the precinct steps and out of the street. As they were going inside, news vans were pulling up. It seemed that their case was about to get a lot more attention than they wanted. They added more information to the board and discussed their theories about how he was choosing these couples.

"Ok, so we know he has a type that's really important to him" Reyes started, "and he's sticking to it. I just...it's really specific don't you guys think?" she asked. "I mean there's no shortage of blonde haired, blue eyed women...anywhere. Case in point" she said looking at Rollins, "but dark haired women with green eyes. How often does that happen?".

"Seems to happen often enough" Rollins said. "Case in point" she said gesturing to the pictures of the victims, "and case in point" she repeated looking at Chris.

"Ok. So how do we think he's choosing them?" Benson asked. "They overlap at one bar, a restaurant and the cafe that Hallie and Kaitlyn went to this morning".

"So maybe he goes to those places, watches and waits until he finds couples that fit his type" Fin suggested.

"And what, just he happens to hit the jackpot three days in a row?" Reyes asked. "I just can't believe it's that easy to find couples that fit his type. I was the only one in my whole class with dark hair and green eyes. And it was a pretty big class" she said before quickly finishing her coffee. "It was about five hundred students and there I was all on my lonesome, the only one with black hair and green eyes. Every other dark haired girl had brown or like hazel or..." they all recognized that she was starting to ramble. Rollins reached over and took her coffee cup from her.

"I think you've had enough for today" she said sitting the cup on her side of the table out of Reyes' reach.

"Ahhh, but I" she said starting to argue.

"Uh un" Rollins said shaking her head. Reyes let out a huff of air.

"Fine" she said with a pout. "Anyway, like I was saying, I don't think that he just luckily stumbled on these couples. I mean come on, three days in a row he just happens to find three different couples that fit his preference?"

"So, how do you think he finds them?" Fin asked. She shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know. I thought this was supposed to be a group effort? I feel like I'm doing a lot of talking" she said slightly joking. Rollins shook her head and chuckled.

"Ok, so maybe it is like Fin says. He goes to these places, the bars and cafes and he watches and waits until he sees a couple that...suits him. Then he follows them, gets their routine down, and waits for the perfect time to strike" she suggested.

"I like the way you think" Chris said. Rollins rolled her eyes and kept a tight grip on Reyes' coffee cup. "Hey, did we ever find out what those holes in the walls at the apartments were?" she asked looking at Amaro.

"CSU thinks they were put there to mount things on the wall. Pictures maybe" he said.

"Or cameras" she suggested. "So, maybe we should jump on his bandwagon".

"What? Follow couples and then put cameras in their apartments?" Fin asked.

"No. Well not the cameras part" she said.

"You mean go out to the places the vics had in common and wait until we see a couple that fits his type?" Amaro asked. Chris nodded her head.

"Yeah. They had three places in common right? The bar, the cafe and that italian restaurant. I love Italian so I call dibs on going there".

"That sound like a plan to everyone?" Cragen asked wanting everyone to be on the same page.

"Sounds like the only the plan we have right now" Olivia said. They all nodded in agreement.

"Ok. Let's start with the restaurant tonight. All of you go. Then tomorrow you can do the cafe during the day and then the bar in the evening. Go home, get changed, meet back here at six thirty to head over to the restaurant" he said dismissing them.

"I'll call and make us a reservation" Rollins said pulling out her phone and looking up the number to the restaurant. The rest of them got up from their places around the table, gathered their things and headed out the door. They walked past the crowd of protesters to get to their cars and went home to get ready for dinner. While she was home, Reyes made jambalaya and put it on the stove. She set the timer and told her sister to check on every ten minutes until the timer went off. She made sure her mother took her evening pills and then went to get ready for dinner. She came down at five forty and checked on dinner one last time before she had to leave. Her dad and brother walked in, dropped their stuff right in the doorway and started to head up the stairs. They'd only taken two steps forward when she saw the dirt falling from their boots.

"No. Por supuesto que no" she said stopping them. "Quítate esos zapatos y dejarlas en el tapete. Y tomar esas cosas piso de arriba. Esta casa está limpia. Quiero que siga así". They groaned their complaints but followed her orders, kicking off their dirty boots on the mat by the door and grabbing their bags to take them upstairs. "Jeza" she said turning to her sister, "I'll be calling your teachers tomorrow to check in. I better like what I hear" she said. Jeza just rolled her eyes and looked back down at her homework. "No rodar sus ojos hacia mí, chica" she snapped. She just kept her eyes on her homework. Her mom, dad, and brother came down the stairs and she checked her watched. She had forty minutes until she had to be back at the station.

"Ay mija" her mother beamed as she laid eyes on her, "you look beautiful. Espero es guapo" she said moving her hair out of her face.

"No, mama. I'm not going on a date. I'm going back to work" she said.

"You're going to work dressed like that?" her brother asked not convinced she wasn't going on a date. Robbie was always trying to be the protective big brother. Whenever they were out as a family and some guy put the moves on her, he was right there to shut it down.

"Yes, I am. Dinner's on the stove. It should be ready in about ten minutes. I have to go" she said quickly making her way to the door. She knew the conversation that was coming if she didn't get out of the house quickly.

"If you dated as much as you work, you'd have found a husband by now" her mother quipped.

"Mami, please, don't start" she said opening the door. "Have a good night. Don't wait up". She hurried to her car to make her way back to the station on time. She saw everyone else's cars on the parking lot and knew she was the last to arrive. She looked at her watch again and it read six fifteen. "I'm not late" she said to herself as she walked up to the precinct doors. The protesters that had gathered earlier in the day were still out in full force, yelling at each other across the barricades the officers set up to separate them.

"The lesbian community is under attack and all you cops are doing is going out for a nice time?!" one woman yelled as Chris walked by.

"The lord is laying seige to these abominations. His will is being done. There is no need for police interference" a man yelled from the other side, waving his bible in the air. Reyes just kept walking up the stairs, through the precinct doors and up to the squad room, shaking off what she'd just heard. She walked through the squad room doors and went over to her desk, not noticing that everyone was staring at her. She was a wearing a light blue dress that stopped just above her knees with black high heels that accentuated the muscles in her legs. Her jet black hair fell around her face in waves of curls and the black eyeliner and mascara she had on made her green eyes pop. She opened her laptop and quickly checked her emails before shutting it again and turning around, finally seeing everyone's eyes on her.

"What?" she asked. They all shook their heads and looked away. Captain Cragen came out of his office at six thirty on the nose.

"We all ready?" he asked looking at each his detectives. His eyes lingered a little longer on Reyes than they did on the rest of his detectives. "You all look great".

"I made our reservation for seven so we should start heading over" Rollins said. Chris looked over at her for the first time since she walked into the squad room. She was wearing black dress pants and a powder blue blouse that matched Chris' dress almost perfectly. She wore a light layer of make up and clear gloss on her lips. If they stood next to each other, it would look like they planned for their outfits to match. She'd taken her hair down from the ponytail she had earlier, letting her blonde locks fall down her shoulders. They all noticed, maybe for the first time, that the two of them fit the victim type perfectly. Rollins looked over to see Reyes staring at her. She held her gaze for a moment before looking away.

"Alright then" Cragen said breaking the awkward silence. "Head on out". They decided to just take one car and since Amaro had an SUV, he offered to drive them. They piled in, Olivia in the front and Fin, Amanda, and Chris in the back and made the drive to the restaurant. When they arrived, Rollins gave her name and they were seated immediately. Everyone in the restaurant seemed to have their eyes on Chris and Amanda as they walked to their table. The other three people in their group were a bit of an afterthought. They sat down and ordered their drinks and started looking over the menu. They talked in the car and decided they needed to act like a normal group of friends, not cops. They were enjoying their food and light banter of conversation, careful to keep an eye on the other patrons. There were a couple of blondes with blue eyes and a couple of dark haired women but none with green eyes and none of them had come together.

Reyes happened to look up at the exact time that Ryanne, her waitress friend, walked into the restaurant. She was with another brunette woman and a man with short blonde hair, who looked to be a couple. Chris quickly looked away, "Shit" she said under her breath. Everyone looked at her as she tried to shrink in her chair. She was hoping that Ryanne would get to her table without noticing her. She put her elbows on the table and brought her forearms up to shield her face then turned to Amanda and asked her to pretend to have a conversation with her.

"Chris?" Ryanne said trying to decipher if it was really her. She almost pretended not to hear her but decided that probably wasn't the best course of action. She put her hands down and turned to look at her.

"Hey" she said nicely. She was hoping that this wouldn't be an awkward scene but with her luck she wasn't holding her breath.

"Hi. I thought you were gonna call".

"I was, I mean, I...I am. I've just been busy, working" she said. She just wanted Ryanne to go to her table and leave her alone.

"You don't look busy" she said looking around the table.

"Well, I am Ryanne. I'm working" she said becoming impatient. Ryanne looked between Chris and Amanda, noticing that they were dressed alike.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Ryanne asked looking between the two of them.

"No" Reyes said quickly. She sounded a little offended by the suggestion which kind of hurt Amanda's feelings. Amanda didn't know why it hurt her feelings that Chris would object so adamantly to dating her but it did. "Look I said I would call you and I will, ok? So, can you just go?" she asked. Ryanne looked at her like she couldn't believe Chris was blowing her off. "I really am working" she said trying to get rid of her. Ryanne sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Fine" she said. She walked around the table to where Chris was sitting and leaned down, kissing her firmly on the lips. "You better call" she said before standing up and walking away to her table. She sat down with the couple she came in with, who looked over at Chris, seemingly checking her out and nodding their approval. The mood at the detective's table was awkward, to say the least. Nobody knew exactly what to say to start up conversation again. Amaro had a slight grin on his face from the knowledge that he was right in his assumptions that Reyes was gay. Olivia and Fin looked back and forth between each other, not sure what to say. Amanda shifted uncomfortably in her chair and all Chris could think was that she could really use a drink. Unlucky for her, they were still working. Another forty five minutes passed with awkwardness and silence besides the clinking of forks on glass plates.

"Uh, so how much longer are we staying here?" Reyes asked breaking the silence. "There haven't been any couples to walk in here that fit his type". Olivia looked at her watch and it was going on ten o'clock. The restaurant closed in another hour.

"Alright, let's call it a night". She waved the waitress over and asked for the check. They settled the bill and left the restaurant. When they got outside, Ryanne was there waiting for Chris.

"Oh my god" she said, "Are you stalking me? Because that's a real turn off".

"No. I just...I wanted to..." Chris was really annoyed at this point and didn't want to hear anything Ryanne had to say.

"I said I would call you, Ry, but I gotta tell you I really don't think I want to anymore".

"It's just...we had sex and now you're ignoring me. I don't get it. What'd I do wrong?" she asked.

"Uh, we're...gonna go wait in the car" Rollins said. She quickly walked away and Benson, Amaro and Tutuola followed behind her. Chris wasn't the type to be shy or embarrassed but she didn't want everyone knowing her business. She'd also noticed that Rollins seemed jealous inside the restaurant and just now, when Ryanne mentioned them having sex, Rollins couldn't get away fast enough. She would deal with that later. Right now, she needed to deal with Ryanne.

"You didn't do anything wrong...until tonight. I said I would call you, Ry. I know you probably wanted me to call you the next day but I'm not on your schedule".

"I know that" she said trying to resolve the situation. She hadn't intended to upset Christina. She just wanted her to pay attention to her.

"And what you did in there, not ok. I have to work with them. I told you I was working and then you accuse me of dating someone and then kiss me in front of everyone. Ryanne, we're not together, ok? You don't have any right to be jealous of anyone I'm with" she said. She wanted to be clear of where they stood because obviously her soft approach wasn't working.

"I thought you said you weren't with her?" she asked jealously.

"Ryanne! Are you listening to anything I'm saying?!" she yelled. Ryanne sighed and took a step closer to Chris and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"Yes, I'm listening. I'm sorry, ok? You're right. I'm being really jealous and a little stalker-ish. I'm just not use to girls not wanting to call me after we've been together, that's all". Chris took Ryanne's arms from around her waist and took a step back.

"Ryanne, I like you. I think you're a great girl" she said.

"But?" she asked knowing a "but" was coming.

"But I don't want to date you" she said bluntly.

"So why'd you come back to the restaurant to talk to me?" Chris could tell that she'd just hurt her feelings.

"Because I was attracted to you and I wanted to..."

"You just wanted to fuck me" she said answering for her. Ryanne wasn't the kind of girl who could have no strings attached sex. Chris just wished she would've figured her for that type before getting involved with her. She didn't want to hurt her feelings any more than she already had but she didn't want to lie to her either.

"Yeah" she answered honestly. "That's all I wanted. I'm sorry. I know you want more but I can't give that to you". She waited for her to say something but she just stood there, trying to hold back her tears. "Look, I have to go. I'm..."

"Working" she said finishing her sentence. "Yeah, whatever". She turned and walked across the street and got into her car. Chris walked over to Amaro's SUV and climbed in next to Rollins.

"Everything alright?" Amaro asked.

"Yeah, everything's good" she answered nonchalantly. Nick started the car and pulled out of the restaurant parking lot to head back to the station. They checked in with the captain about their night out. They hadn't seen one couple that fit the victim type nor had they noticed anyone who seemed to be scoping people out. He told them to go home and get some sleep but to come back bright and early. They needed to be at the cafe the couples went to for breakfast and lunch dates. It was eleven fifteen when they were walking out of the precinct to head home. Reyes wasn't sure if now was the right time to address the tension between herself and Rollins but she figured, no time like the present.

"Hey, Rollins" she said calling across the parking lot her, "Wait up". Rollins stopped in the middle of the parking lot and Reyes hurried over to meet her. "Ummm, listen, I don't really know you very well and you don't know me. I felt like we were getting to know each other and that we could be friends, you know, outside of work but after tonight I just...ummm...I feel like maybe you want to be more than just friends..."

"That's ridiculous" Rollins said stopping her mid-speech. "I'm not gay". Her voice was completely confident even though, on the inside, she was questioning the feelings she had for her coworker.

"Uh, ok". Chris wasn't sure what to do with that reaction. No matter what Rollins said, she knew she was attracted to her. "I just got the sense at the restaurant that you were...kind of jealous when Ryanne came over and..."

"I'm not jealous. Why would I be jealous?" Rollins asked interrupting her again. Chris somewhat understood what Amanda was going through. She had a hard time coming to terms with the reality that she was gay but she'd accepted it some time ago. She thought it must be harder for Rollins, though, to be so secure in who she thought she was only to have it challenged by her own feelings.

"I understand it might be hard for you to accept but...come on. You were jealous" she said. Rollins opened her mouth to argue but Reyes didn't want to hear anymore of her denials. "Look, I just don't want things to be awkward between us. We both have jobs to do and I would like for us to keep things professional. I always like to be professional which is why I don't get involved with co-workers. It's kind of a rule of mine" she said. She was trying not to mince words and just be completely honest.

"Well, that's a good rule but it wouldn't matter because I'm not gay" she repeated.

"Ay dios mio" she said softly. "Ok". Chris saw this conversation going absolutely nowhere. She'd said what she had to say and she was just going to have to be satisfied with that. "Well, good night". She turned and started to walk to her car. Amanda stood there in the middle of the parking lot, watching her walk away. She tried to peel her eyes away but she just couldn't. Reyes suddenly stopped and turned back around to see Rollins staring at her. She laughed to herself and then started walking again. _"Not gay my ass" _she thought to herself.

**Spanish- English Translations**

**No. Por supuesto que no**- No. Absolutely not

**Quítate esos zapatos y dejarlas en el tapete. Y tomar esas cosas piso de arriba. Esta casa está limpia. Quiero que siga así**- Take those shoes off and leave them on the mat. And take that stuff upstairs. This house is clean. I want it to stay that way

**No rodar sus ojos hacia mí, chica**- Don't roll your eyes at me, girl

**Espero es guapo- **I hope he's handsome

**Ay dios mio**- Oh my god


	9. Chapter 9: Amanda and Christina Rollins?

Chapter 9: Amanda and Christina Rollins?

They came in the next morning at seven to regroup and make a plan for the day. The group of protesters outside the precinct had reassembled and the news vans were back. The good news was that there hadn't been another murder. They thought the perp had yet to find another couple that fit his type. They hoped they could stop him before he did. They left the precinct at seven twenty to head over to the cafe the victims frequented. Benson and Amaro took a table in the back so they could see the entire place. Fin took a seat by the door so he could see the outside tables as well as anyone coming and going. Rollins and Reyes had a table in the middle. Reyes faced the back of the cafe and had eyes on Nick and Liv while Rollins faced the front with eyes on Fin. They watched everyone, looking specifically for a white man in his forties that paid a little too much attention to the lesbian couples. They'd been there for an hour and had nothing so far. Reyes decided to take this opportunity to talk to Rollins about the chat they had the night before.

"So, are we gonna talk anymore about this?" she asked.

"About what?" Rollins asked confused.

"About the lesbian crush you have on me" she clarified. Rollins laughed.

"I do not have a crush on you. I already told you, I'm not gay". Reyes could tell that Rollins was telling the truth about her being straight. But straight or not, she could also tell that Rollins had a crush on her. She just wanted her to admit it.

"Look, Rollins, I get it. You're straight. Good for you" she said sarcastically. "But don't lie. You have a crush on me".

"No, I don't" Amanda said getting angry with Reyes' persistence. Her voice raised slightly gaining the attention of some of the other people in the cafe, including their teammates. "I don't" she said in a softer tone.

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks".

"Come again?" she asked.

"You say you don't have a crush on me but you feel the need to keep saying it over and over which means you really do have a crush on me" she said explaining the Shakespearian quote. Rollins rolled her eyes and picked at the muffin in front of her. "I understand if the feelings you're having are scary for you but you don't have to lie about them" she said nicely.

"Ok" she said clearing her throat, "Maybe I do have some feelings that I don't quite understand...but I'm not a lesbian" she added quickly.

"You're still protesting" Reyes said in a teasing voice. Rollins rolled her eyes again and got up from the table. "Ok...I'm sorry" Reyes said quickly, hoping she'd sit back down.

"I need to go to the bathroom". She turned and walked back in the direction of Benson and Amaro's table. "Nothing's going on here" she whispered as she walked past. Benson sighed and ran her hand through her hair.

"I know" she whispered back even though Rollins had already disappeared into the bathroom. She stood at the sink and looked at herself in the mirror. She really didn't know what was going on with her. She'd never been attracted to another woman before. What was it about Christina that had her stomach in knots and her mind going a million miles per second? Whatever it was she didn't have time to figure it out right then. She needed to pull herself together and get back to work. She took a deep breath and left the bathroom. She went back over to the table and sat down with Chris.

"Ok, listen" she started, "I'll admit it. I have a crush on you". Chris smiled smugly knowing that she'd been right and had gotten Rollins to admit it. "I don't know why or where these feelings are coming from but they're there and I can't make them go away but I'm like you. I think romances in the work place are a bad idea; not that I want a romance with you" she quickly added. Reyes laughed at her. She really had no idea what to do with the feelings she was having for her. "Whatever it is, I'll figure it out and I'll get past it".

"Ok" she said simply. Rollins was expecting a little more of a reaction from her that just "ok".

"That's it? You pester me for ten minutes about this stupid crush and I finally admit it and all you have to say is "ok"?"

"Well, what else do you want me to say? I don't want a romance with you either" she joked. She couldn't deny that she was attracted to Rollins but she didn't want to date her. She didn't want to date anyone. She'd known for a long time that she was gay but she wasn't out to her family. Her mother is very catholic and everyone else seemed to follow her lead. Plus she had heart problems. Chris didn't want to do anything to upset her. "We'll be fine. Let's do our jobs and uh, you know, whatever". She was about to further explain that "whatever" when she saw Benson and Amaro get up from they're table and start walking towards them.

"Captain wants us back" she whispered as she walked by. They got up and followed them, along with Fin, out of the cafe and back to the precinct. The protesters were still out in full force, yelling and hoisting there signs in the air. They seemed to be growing more and more combative. Uniformed officers were now taking shifts outside for crowd management. When they walked into the squad room, they could see the chief of detectives in Captain Cragen's office, along with a couple other suits they didn't recognize. Of course, Reyes didn't recognize any of them because she'd never met the chief. They sat at the briefing table and waited for the captain to come out and tell them why he'd called them back.

"What's that about?" Reyes asked looking through the captain's office window at what looked like an intense conversation.

"Nothing good" Benson answered, also watching the scene through the office window. After about five more minutes, the captain walked out of his office along with the chief and the two other men.

"Detectives" the chief said greeting them. They all stood up, except for Reyes. Rollins slapped her on the shoulder and she stood up with everyone else. "Sergeant" he said addressing Olivia.

"Chief" she said returning his greeting.

"I understand this case you all are working is a real doozy" he said. "I'm sure you're all working hard but frankly we're not seeing the results we'd like" he said.

"I'm guessing the press out front are the kind of results you're not wanting to see" Reyes said. Rollins slapped her again and gave her a glare. "What?" she asked like she didn't know she'd done anything wrong.

"Chief, this is Detective Christina Reyes. She came to us from California" Cragen said introducing them.

"Well, detective, you're right. We don't like the press attention, the gay coalition group or the religious conservatives that are protesting outside the precinct right now" he said addressing her statement. "They don't feel like enough is being done to stop these murders and from the lack of progress I'm seeing on this case, I'm questioning if they're right".

"You can take over if you want" she smart alecked.

"I'd watch my tone if I were you, detective" he said angrily. "Just as quickly as you came here, it can be arranged for you to leave again" he threatened. As much as she wanted to come back at him with a sly retort, she needed to pick her battles. She was smart enough to know that this was a battle she didn't want to fight. So she stood there, stared him down, and bit her tongue. "Now, we've come up with a new plan". They all looked at Captain Cragen and got the sense that he wasn't on board with this "new plan". They all waited quietly for him to explain what this plan was. "An undercover operation" he finally said. "We want this guy in custody as soon as possible so we're gonna put some bait out there for him".

"Wait. You're taking the case from us?" Benson asked angrily.

"All due respect chief, we feel like we have a solid plan and we're working it" Amaro said. None of them wanted the case to go to another team. They'd caught it and had put in a lot of hours already. "We can make this case if we just..."

"Relax detectives. I'm not taking the case from your squad" he said calming their protests. "It'll be you all, specifically Detectives Rollins and Reyes" he said turning towards the pair.

"Qué?" Reyes said. She knew she heard her name but she couldn't have possibly just heard her name. She thought she was done with undercover operations when she gave two years of her life to an undercover role in narcotics back in California. She had a teenage sister who was acting out, a brother and father who couldn't take care of themselves if their lives depended on it, and a sick mother to take care of. She couldn't go undercover again.

"That's right. We've reviewed the case file and you two fit the type of victims he's looking for. You already know the case, you're invested. I'm confident that you all, under the direction of Captain Cragen, can make this case" he said. Reyes chuckled uncomfortably at the idea of going undercover as a couple with Rollins, especially after the conversation they'd had earlier.

"So why can't we be involved in the case and you find other detectives that fit his type?" Reyes asked.

"Why would we do that when we have you?"

"Who says you have me?" she shot back.

"Reyes" Cragen said in a warning tone.

"What? We don't get a say?" she asked gesturing between herself and Rollins.

"No" the chief said stepping forward, "You're doing it. That's an order".

"How do you expect this to work?" she asked. He just stood there and looked at her confused by the question. "These were couples, real couples. That means they lived together, went out together. They were intimate, at least affectionate in public. Not to mention his affinity for cameras so I'd assume he likes their private affection as well. He picked them when they were out together doing couple things and they were married. Rollins and I..." she said pointing back and forth between them, "not a couple, not married. We barely know each other. How do you expect us to get this guy to believe that we're in love?"

"Well, that's up to you to figure out" he said as if it weren't his problem.

"Of course it is" she said annoyed.

"Reyes" Cragen said again in a warning tone.

"No, Captain" the chief said stopping him, "it's alright. Speak your piece, detective".

"It's so easy for you to give out orders; tell us what we have to do because you just get to go back to your office and sit behind your desk. We're the ones who have to step out of our lives and give pieces ourselves to make the case. You...you don't have to give anything" she said clearly not a fan of his. Her chief back home would've never put any of his detectives in situations they weren't comfortable with. He cared more about them and getting the job done right than he cared about politics. "What if he does pick us? Who's to say he won't beat and rape us and slit our throats and set us on fire like the other three couples? Oh, but you don't have to worry about that right? It's not your problem?" She was more than angry about his disregard for the sacrifice they'd be making and the danger they'd be putting themselves in. It was so typical; just like a suit. "The particulars didn't matter, you just wanted the press off the front steps and you don't care what we have to do to make it happen. You just get to go home and rest easy".

"That may all be true but this is what you signed up for detective".

"What is this, the fucking army or something?" She was pissed off and she wasn't thinking through the things that were coming out of her mouth.

"Reyes, out of line" Cragen said stepping in.

"I can't go undercover" she said calmly despite her anger. "You want to send me back to California...fine. But either way, you're gonna have to find someone else". She walked off and went upstairs to the crib, slamming the door behind her. They were all shocked by Reyes' reaction. Rollins couldn't help but to feel insulted that Reyes didn't want to even pretend to be in a relationship with her.

"I'll go talk to her" she said following Reyes upstairs. She opened the door and found Chris sitting on one of the beds. She looked up when she heard the door open and saw Rollins stick her head in. She just looked back down at the floor and anxiously tapped her foot, thinking about what she'd done. Amanda shut the door behind her and went over to sit next to Chris on the bed.

"How deep is the shit I'm in?" she asked. Rollins laughed.

"Uh, I don't know. I think everyone was trying to process what happened. The chief is dumbfounded by you" she said with a chuckle.

"I think just plain dumb sums him up pretty well" she said getting another laugh from Amanda.

"Look, I know you said you don't want a relationship with me but you have to admit, us going undercover isn't a bad idea. And it wouldn't be serious, just pretend..."

"Don't flatter yourself, Rollins" she said interrupting her. "My not wanting to go undercover isn't about you" she said. "I spent the last two years of my life pretending to be someone I'm not so...I'm sure you can understand that I'm not gung ho to do it all over again".

"Well, it's not gonna be two years" Rollins said trying to make her feel better about the situation. "You heard what Huang said. This guy isn't gonna stop until we catch him. So we flush him out, we take him down and then we get back to business as usual" she said like it was no big deal.

"Yeah. That's what they said when they sent me under in Cali. "One month, two tops. We're so close, we just need you to close the deal". One month turned into two then four then a year. Before I knew it, two years had gone by. When we finally made the case and I got back home, my sister was flunking out of high school, my brother had gotten fired from his job and my parents had each had a heart attack" she said sadly. "My father was so stressed out from all the medical bills and the mortgage and my mother was falling apart trying and failing to control my sister. We almost lost the house, my sister almost got arrested, my parents almost died and I didn't know about any of it because I was undercover. I can't do that to them again. They drive me crazy but...they depend on me". She hadn't expected to open up so much to Amanda, or anyone for that matter. But she figured that she couldn't always be so standoff-ish. And she really felt like she and Rollins could be good friends.

"My parents weren't...really around. It was just me and my sister. We had to fend for ourselves. My sister, Kim, she had a lot of problems growing up; mental problems and drugs. A few years ago she met a guy, Jeff, real asshole; special kind of stupid". Chris chuckled at her description of the guy. "He'd beat her up and I'd run him off and then she'd take him right back. You know the drill". Reyes nodded her head knowing the cycle that Rollins was describing. "Anyway, last year, she came for a visit and he showed up, attacked her, and I killed him. Turned out she set the whole thing up".

"Your sister set you up to murder her boyfriend?" she asked in disbelief. Rollins just nodded her head.

"Yeah...and it didn't matter. No matter how she badly she screws up or screws me over, she's family. If she called me tomorrow asking for help, I'd do it" she admitted. They were the same in that respect. Loyalty to family was the utmost important. No matter how much they put her through, Chris couldn't turn her back on them. She'd been hiding what she'd known about herself since grade school just to keep her mother happy.

"This really is the best way to draw this guy out isn't it?" she asked. Rollins nodded her head. Chris sighed heavily, "They don't know" she said looking at Rollins who met her with a look of confusion. "My family. They don't know...that I'm gay". Rollins looked surprised by the admission. "My mother is very...catholic" she said with a light laugh. "We heard it all growing up. No sex before marriage, abortion is a sin, homosexuals are an abomination. If she were one of those protestors, she be on the side with the folks holding up bibles" she joked even though she was serious. "I wonder sometimes what she'd think if I told her. Would she be upset or disappointed? Would she try to pray it out of me? Or would she love and accept me? I just don't know" she said sadly.

"Maybe nows the perfect time for you to find out". It didn't dawn on Rollins until now just how much Reyes probably identified with the victims and how hard it was for her to be on this case. Now they wanted her to put herself out there as a target.

"Part of me is afraid that she'll have another heart attack and die if I tell her". She started to laugh. Once she started she couldn't stop. They sat there for a minute, laughing together. Neither one of them really knew what they were laughing about but it felt good to let it out. Felt a lot better than crying. "Ugh, I guess I should just buck up and do this huh?" she asked. Rollins nodded her head again. "I guess you're gonna get to try out that crush" she joked. Rollins blushed bright red causing Reyes to laugh. "Come on" she said getting up from the bed. "We better go tell them I changed my mind before I get fired". They walked out of the crib together and went to the captain's office. They knocked and waited for him to tell them to come in. They went inside and shut the door behind them.

"Ok" Reyes said, "I'll do it".

"We both will" Rollins said stepping forward to stand next to Reyes. He nodded his head and picked up the phone, dialing a number. He told the chief that they were on board and they'd start working up a plan to send them under immediately. When he got off the phone, he called Benson, Amaro and Tutuola into his office to talk about the operation behind closed doors. They needed to create identities for both Amanda and Christina, secure a house for them, get them rings and discuss how Liv, Nick, and Fin would be worked into the picture so they were around for back up. They needed to work quickly. The sooner they got out there, the better chance they had of hooking the perp and saving another couple from being murdered.

"What about the last name?" Fin asked. He was met with confused looks from everyone. "All the couples shared a last name" he pointed out. Rollins and Reyes looked at each other and thought about which name they both wanted to take. They'd decided to keep their own names, just to make things easier, but now they had to decide on whose last name they wanted.

"Let's flip for it" Reyes said pulling a quarter out of her pocket. "You win and I'll use your last name. I win, you use mine" she said. Rollins shrugged her shoulders.

"Ok" she said.

"Call it in the air". She flipped the quarter up and Rollins called heads. She caught it and put it on the back of her head. She took a breath before revealing which side it'd landed on. "Ugh, heads" she groaned.

"It's settled then. Amanda and Christina Rollins" Cragen said writing it into their profile. "What about rings?" he asked.

"Well, I think I'm good in that department" Reyes said flashing her mother's ring.

"I'm sure I can find something" Rollins said nonchalantly.

"Ok" Cragen said moving along to the next item, "What about living arrangements? Rollins will you move in with Reyes or will Reyes be moving in with you?"

"Ummm, sorry but she can't move in with me" Reyes said shooting down the idea.

"Why not?" Amaro asked nosily. Reyes was picking up really quickly that he liked to stick his nose in other people's business.

"Because I just said so" she smart alecked. Rollins bumped her arm lightly with her elbow. "I already have a full house. There's no room for her" she said making it clear that she was explaining to Capt Cragen and not Amaro.

"Well you'd share a room, right?" he asked. "Married couple". Chris rolled her eyes.

"We can use my place" Rollins said ignoring Amaro's comment.

"Shouldn't we be budgeted for an apartment?" Reyes asked. She knew it was standard to have a pad while undercover. It was too risky to use your own address in case things went south during an operation.

"Yeah, right" Fin said, "You know how cheap the department is. I can put in a call to buddy of mine, see if we can borrow one of the crash pads from narcotics that's not being used".

"Good. Let us know as soon as you get word. In the meantime, Reyes, you can move in with Rollins. Liv, Nick and Fin will be friends from college. That way they're around for back up. Ok. Next up, what do you do for work?" Cragen asked, moving along with creating their profile.

"Uhhh...we could...ummmm" Rollins stammered trying to think of something.

"We own our own business" Reyes suggested. Cragen nodded.

"Ok. What kind of business?".

"Bakery" she said without giving it much thought. "Small, from home. We can make some fake business cards". Everyone looked at her curiously, wondering where she got that idea from. "Ummm, my mother used to run a bakery in California. I helped her out when I was in high school. I can do all the baking and you can book the clients, do the finances", she said looking at Amanda. She nodded in agreement.

"Good. That's settled. Last thing is making you two a believable couple. So tonight, go out, meet people, let yourselves be seen together".

"I know how to be gay. It's blondie here that's gonna need the help" Chris joked.

"Ha ha" she laughed sarcastically. For some reason, Rollins didn't think it'd be too hard to pretend to be in a relationship with Reyes. If she was being honest with herself, she was looking forward to trying it out. Of course, she'd never say it out loud.

"Ok, Chris go home, pack your things. You need to move in to Rollins' apartment as quickly as possible and then go out tonight. All of you. I want you all there as much as possible" he said looking at Olivia, Nick, and Fin. "I don't want them without backup". They nodded their understanding and left his office. "Rollins, Reyes" he said stopping them from leaving, "Stay a minute, will you?"

Benson, Amaro and Tutuola left the Captain's office, shutting the door behind them. Captain Cragen discussed the possibility of the perp choosing them and what that could mean. If he really was using cameras to spy on his victims then they would have to be comfortable in every aspect of their "relationship".

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Reyes asked.

"If you're thinking that I'm saying that the two of you will have to be comfortable being intimate with one another, then yes. I'm saying what you think I'm saying".

"Isn't that against department regs?" she asked trying to come up with something that would get her out of having sex with Rollins.

"Well, technically, yes" he said, "But the chief asked you to go undercover as a couple and that is a part of being a couple". He could see the discomfort in both of their body language and wasn't sure how this would work out. "Listen, I understand that this is uncomfortable for the both of you but you need to do everything necessary to maintain your cover". They both nodded their understanding and turned to leave his office, awkwardly bumping into each other trying to get out of the door. Captain Cragen chuckled as he watched them fumble around each other. "Well, this should be interesting" he said to himself as he put the finishing touches on their profiles. Chris and Amanda gathered their things and left the precinct together to head over to Chris' house and start the moving in process. Amanda had taken the subway to work that day so she rode in Reyes' car.

"Don't pretend you're not excited, Rollins" Chris said looking over at her companion. "You know you want me". Rollins rolled her eyes and looked out the window. Neither one of them could predict where this was going to go but it sure was going to be an interesting ride.


	10. Chapter 10: Making the Move

Chapter 10: Making the Move

Amanda stared out the window the entire ride to Christina's house. Her mind was going over all the things that might happen in the coming days. She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice the car had come to a stop. Chris put the car in park and turned off the engine. She undid her seat belt and opened her door to get out when she looked over and saw Rollins just sitting there.

"Hello. Earth to blondie" she said getting her attention. Rollins rolled her eyes and looked at her.

"Ok, rule number one: don't call me blondie" she said.

"Oh, are we making rules?" she asked. Rollins stared at her a blank expression on her face. "I guess I better start thinking of some, huh?" Rollins just kept staring at her with the same blank expression. "What's wrong with you?" she asked. Rollins seemed to be in a weird mood since they left the precinct. She hadn't said a word the entire drive over to Chris' house. She continued to just sit there silently and stare at her as if she hadn't just asked her a question. "Ok" she said clearing her throat. "Ummm, I'm gonna go pack some stuff. You can wait here or you can come inside. It's up to you" she said. She waited for a minute to give Amanda a chance to decide if she wanted to wait in the car or come in the house with her. Without saying anything, Amanda took off her seatbelt, opened her door, and got out of the car. Chris let out of huff of air and climbed out of the driver's seat. She hit the button for the locks and led the way up to her front door. She unlocked and opened the door, letting Rollins step in before her. She shut the door behind them and started up the stairs then stopped when she realized Amanda was still standing in the foyer.

"Come on" she said looking down at her. She hesitated for a second before starting to climb the stairs. Chris continued up and down the hall to her room. She pulled a couple of bags out of her closet and started packing up her clothes. She heard someone talking in another room and went to see who it was. As she got closer, she recognized the voice. She went over and opened the door. "What the hell are you doing?" she yelled. Jeza practically jumped out of her skin when she heard her sister.

"Ummm, I...You...I was..." she stuttered. She brought her phone up to her ear, "I have to call you back" she said to whoever was on the phone before hanging up. "What are you doing here?"

"Hago las preguntas. Por que no estas en la escuela?" she asked. Jeza looked at her with a stupid expression on her face. "Estoy esperando" she said impatiently.

"I just...didn't feel like going" she said.

"You didn't feel like going?" she asked mockingly. "Since when is it your decision whether you go to school or not?" Jeza looked at her again with a dumb expression. "Jezalyn Esmerelda Reyes, answer me" she said angrily.

"It's not" she said softly.

"That's right. It's not. So get your shit, go downstairs and wait in the living room. You're going to school". Jeza pouted and grabbed her book bag then started to leave her room. Chris stepped in front of her to stop her from leaving. "Phone" she said holding out her hand. Jeza looked like she was about to burst into tears on the spot.

"But" she said starting to protest. The look on Chris' face stopped her from finishing her sentence. She handed over the phone and headed downstairs to wait for Chris to drive her to school. Chris put the phone in her pocket and went back to her room to finish packing. Rollins was sitting on the bed waiting for her.

"Who was that?" she asked. Chris cleared her throat.

"That was my sister ditching school" she said. "So, we're gonna have to make a stop before going to your place". Rollins silently nodded her head. Chris went to the hall closet and grabbed a suitcase to put the rest of her clothes in along with her small jewelry box. She grabbed on of the smaller bags and took it the bathroom to get her toiletries and makeup then went back to her room. "Ok" she said grabbing her bags, "I'm ready". Amanda took one of the bags from her and headed down the stairs. Jeza stood up when she heard someone coming down the stairs only to look up and see it wasn't her sister.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked rudely.

"Go to the car!" Chris yelled. Jeza continued to pout as she snatched up her bag and stomped out the door. Rollins followed the girl out the door while Chris locked up the house. She hit the button to open the trunk for Rollins to put her bag in the back. She threw her other bags inside, closed the trunk then went and got in the driver's seat. She made the drive over to Jeza's school and walked her inside while Rollins waited in the car. Chris told the principal that she'd caught her sister skipping school and to give whatever punishment they normally gave students for skipping. They gave Jeza an hour of detention for each class she missed totaling three hours. The principal handed her progress reports Jeza's teachers had prepared for her. She was in danger of failing two classes which would mean she'd be repeating the eleventh grade. "Ya hablaremos de esto mas tarde" she said holding up the progress reports. "Go to class". Jeza took her detention slips and left the office to go to class. Chris turned back to the principal, "Thank you. Please don't hesitate to call me if she gives you any more problems". They shook hands and Chris left the school and went back to the car. "So I was thinking" she said as started the car, "We should have dinner at my house tonight". Rollins almost gave herself whiplash from snapping her head around so quickly.

"Why?" she asked. The last thing she wanted to do was have dinner with Reyes' family.

"Because you're my wife" she joked. Rollins wasn't amused. "Because I need to tell them that I won't be staying at home for awhile and why and I think it'd be a good idea for them to meet you" she said seriously.

"I don't think that's necessary for what we're trying to do here" she said trying to get out of it. "I know you want to come out to your family but you don't need me to do that" she said.

"I didn't say anything about "coming out" to anyone. I said I need to explain why I won't be staying at home for awhile. I know it'll make them feel better to know who I'm staying with". She pulled out her parking spot onto the street. "So, dinner at my house tonight?" she asked. She stopped at a red light and looked over at Rollins to see she was staring out the window. "Hello" she said trying to get her attention. Amanda just kept silently staring out the window. "Fine, you don't want to talk to me. I get it but unless you want to wander around the city aimlessly for the rest of the day, you should start giving me directions to your apartment". Rollins realized that she'd never told Chris where she lived so she started directing her towards her apartment building. When they arrived, Chris went to the trunk to get her bags. Rollins went right to the door to go upstairs to her apartment. "No, it's fine. I got it" Chris said sarcastically to herself. She closed the trunk and hit the locks before following Rollins inside.

Chris liked the setup of Amanda's place. It was nice and simple, just the right size for one person. If she lived alone, it looked like the kind of place she'd choose. She stood awkwardly in the living room waiting for Rollins to tell her where to put her stuff. As much as she understood her discomfortable with this situation, she was over Amanda's attitude. She didn't like their fake marriage either but they had a job to do and they definitely wouldn't get anywhere if they weren't talking to each other. Rollins came out of the bedroom and sat down on her couch, grabbing the remote and turning on the tv. Chris dropped her bags and grabbed the remote from her and switched the tv back off.

"What the hell" Rollins said annoyed.

"Listen, I don't want to be here anymore than you want me to be but I'm here". She sat down next to her on the couch before continuing, "I know you like me and you have your issues with that but you need to put that aside and focus on the reason that we're here. There is a psycho out there murdering innocent women and it's our job to stop him. So are we gonna do this or not?" she asked. Rollins bit the inside of her cheek and thought about what Reyes was saying. She was nervous about the prospect of a relationship with Christina. Even though it was just pretend, to some extent it had to be real otherwise it wouldn't be believable. She hadn't had enough time to work through her feelings for Chris and understand where they were coming from. But Chris was right. They had a job to do so she had to put her own insecurities aside and focus on the task at hand.

"Yeah, ok" she finally said. "I'll go make some room for you in the closet". She got up from the couch and went into her bedroom. Reyes took a deep breath and slowly released it. As much as she was dreading this assignment, she was interested to see how this would work out. She wondered how well they would work together as a couple, if people would find them believable, and if the perp would even be interested in them.

"Hey" Rollins said pulling her out of her thoughts, "You can come put your stuff away". Chris stood up and grabbed bags and suitcase then headed into the bedroom. Amanda had moved her clothes to one side of the closet and cleared out a couple of drawers for her. She sat her stuff on the bed and started to unpack. Amanda came over and helped her hang up her clothes. "So, I was thinking about what you said and you're right. We've got a job to do and we should put our personal feelings aside to get it done" she said.

"_We_" Chris said looking at her sideways.

"Ok, _I_" she corrected. "I already told you that I'm not sure about my feelings for you or where they're coming from. Now I have to be married to you. I just...I wish I'd had time to sort it all out before being put in this position".

"Oh, I haven't put you in any positions yet, Rollins" she joked causing her to blush.

"You know what I mean" she said. Chris laughed and nodded her head. She put the last of her clothes away and put all of her toiletries and all her other feminine products in the bathroom. Amanda put Chris' suitcase and bags in the front closet then went back to the bedroom. She went over and sat next to Chris on the bed. "So, how's this gonna work?" she asked.

"Uh, well, we have to make people believe that we like each other. Love...each other" she corrected. "It should be an easy task for you. Me on the other hand..." Rollins playfully jabbed her in the side with her elbow. "Ow" she said laughing.

"Can you ever be serious?" she asked.

"Occasionally".

"Can this be one of those occasions?" Chris sighed and cleared her throat.

"Fine" she said. "I guess the first thing we have to do is get you a ring". She got up and went over to her jewelry box. She picked out the purity ring her father had given her when she was sixteen and went over to Rollins, getting down one knee. Rollins playfully pushed her over and laughed. She got up and sat next to her, handing her the ring. "That should fit you". Rollins tried the ring on and it fit her finger perfectly. "So, ummm, about dinner tonight" she started. "You don't have to come if you don't want to".

"I want to" she said.

"Ok" Chris said surprised that she'd agreed to go. "I think we should talk" she said.

"Ok" Rollins said with a laugh, "Talk about what?" she asked.

"About us". Rollins looked confused. "We should use this time to get know each other better. For all intents and purposes this has to seem like a real relationship. If we're right about him using cameras to spy on his victims then we have to be "in character" all the time. It'll seem a little phony if he sees us asking each other about things that a married couple would know".

"Yeah, ok". Chris looked at her like she wasn't convinced that Rollins was on board. "Look, Reyes, I just...I'm straight. I've always been sure of that and then you come along and I...I don't know" she said rubbing her hands over her face.

"You need to get more comfortable with the idea of being in a relationship with me" she said. "Listen, dating a woman isn't all that different from dating a man. Except if you're lucky you like the same clothes and have the same body type and shoe size" she said with a laugh. "The best relationships start with friendships. Granted we don't have as much time to build a friendship as most couples do but we have to make the best of this whole thing. Like you said, it won't be for long". She could tell that she was going to have to be sensitive to Rollins' feelings, something she wasn't very good at doing. But this case was important to her so she would try her best. "Let's start with something simple, like our names. You can't call me Reyes anymore. It's Chris" she said with a smile. Amanda smiled back but her body was stiff and uncomfortable. "Relax" Chris said rubbing her shoulder. "Look, it's almost five so let's call Olivia, Nick and Fin to make a plan for us to go out tonight and then we can go to dinner at my house. We can spend all day tomorrow getting to know each other" she suggested.

"Ok" she said agreeing to the plan. Chris got up from the bed and went to get her phone. They made a conference call to Benson, Amaro and Tutuola to make plans for their night out. They let Chris and Amanda know that TARU was going to set up a connection at the apartment. If there was any video set up, they'd be able to intercept it and hopefully trace it back to his IP address. Fin let them know he was still looking into getting them a crash pad from narcotics. They agreed to meet at the club at nine and stay for an undetermined amount of time. Once they had everything worked out, they left the apartment and made the drive back to Rae's house. When they went inside, the aroma made it evident that dinner was already underway. Chris took Amanda's hand and walked her into the kitchen expecting to find either her sister or brother there, only to see her mother. She quickly let go of her hand and walked over to the stove.

"Mama, what are you doing?" she asked taking the stirring spoon from her.

"I'm cooking dinner" she said.

"You know you shouldn't be on your feet. Go sit down" she said. Her mother turned around to go into the living room and saw Amanda standing there. "Mama, this is Amanda. We work together. She'll be having dinner with us. Amanda this is my mother, Gloria" she said over her shoulder.

"Encantada de conocerte" she said with a smile.

"She doesn't speak spanish, mami" Chris said from the kitchen.

"Oh, sorry" she said. "It's nice to meet you".

"Nice to meet you too, ma'am" Amanda said returning her smile. She invited Amanda to sit down with her in the living room. Chris covered the spaghetti cooking on the stove and checked on the bread in the oven before going through the living room to the bottom of the stairs.

"Roberto, Jezalyn, get down here now" she yelled up. She went over and stood by the couch next to her mother. A minute later, her brother and sister came downstairs to see what she wanted. "What are you two doing up there?" she asked. They both shook their heads and said nothing. "So why is mami down here cooking dinner?" She stood there and waited for an answer but neither of them said anything. Jeza stared at Amanda, recognizing her from earlier that day. "Hello. Am I talking to myself?"

"I don't know" Robbie said. "She wanted to cook dinner".

"Both of you know she's not supposed to be on her feet. You're letting her slave away at the stove cooking dinner for you and you're upstairs doing nothing" she said angrily. They both just stood there looking at her like she was speaking gibberish. "Both of you in the kitchen. Finish cooking and set up the table. And you" she said looking at Jeza, "are grounded. You understand me?"

"What!?" she yelled. "That's not fair. Mom" she said looking towards her mother, hoping she'd come to her defense.

"Escuche a su hermana, Jeza" she said. Chris folded her arms over her chest and gave a smug look. Jeza groaned and pouted her way to the kitchen to finish cooking dinner. While they waited, Gloria bombarded Chris and Amanda with questions, mostly about their dating lives. She made it abundantly clear that she was ready for her daughter to get married and give her grandchildren. Jeza and Robbie finally called them to the table to eat. Chris called up the stairs for her father to come to dinner. She introduced him to Amanda and they all sat down to eat. It was getting late and they had to go home to get ready for the bar so Chris decided it was time to tell her family about her leaving.

"Ummm, so I won't be staying here for a little while" she started. "I'm gonna be working on an important case so I'll be staying with Amanda. That's why I brought her tonight so you could meet her". She paused and waited for them to say something but nobody seemed to have anything to say. "She stays here in the city so I won't be far. We might be moved soon, though. I'll try my best to get word to you if that happens. And you can call me if you need me. I can't promise that I'll be able to but I'll try my best to be around".

"What's the case?" Robbie asked.

"You know I can't talk about that" she said. They'd been through this before when Chris went under in California. All she could say was that she was leaving, that she'd be back as soon as she could, and not to worry about her.

"Don't be mysterious, mija" her father said. "This is about those lesbians being murdered isn't it?" he asked. Chris opened he mouth to answer but he continued talking. "I saw it on the news, all those people protesting outside your work. They showed pictures of the women. You look like them".

"Papa" she said sternly before looking over at her mother who looked mortified.

"So you two are going to be off playing like dykes together" Robbie Jr asked. Robbie Sr reached over and slapped him on the back of the head.

"Have some respect for your sister, eh?" he said chastising him.

"Is it true, mija?" Gloria asked nervously.

"I can't talk about the case, mama" she said softly.

"That's a yes" Robbie said. Chris glared at him and their father's hand came up to hit him again but he ducked. Gloria started to get up from the table.

"Where are you going?" Chris asked.

"To get your bible" she answered. "If it's true that you're going to be doing...that stuff then you're going to need it". Amanda shifted uncomfortably in her chair and took a sip of water. She felt horrible for Chris that her mother thought she'd need her bible to make it through this case. She was experiencing what Christina meant when she said her mother was "very catholic".

"Mama, don't" Chris called after her but Gloria waved her off and continued up the stairs.

"You need to tell her, mija" her father said.

"Tell her what?" she asked looking over at her father. He gave her knowing look and she knew immediately that he knew. She was confused because she thought she'd always done a good job of being discreet. Her father saw the wheels in her mind turning as she tried to figure out how he'd figured her out.

"Hey, I know my children" he said with a soft smile. Chris smiled back and she relaxed knowing she had the support of her father. Jeza and Robbie sat there looking confused, trying to figure out what it was that Chris needed to tell their mother. Gloria came back down the stairs and sat Chris' bible on the table next to her plate.

"There. Take it with you. It'll keep you safe" she said as she sat back down. She saw Chris open her mouth to argue. "You need it Christina. Para proteger su alma".

"Her soul is fine, Gloria" her father said speaking up for her.

"No, it's not Roberto" she argued.

"Christina tell your mother" he said. Chris really didn't think this was the time to get into to all of this. She and Amanda needed to get going but she had a feeing her father wouldn't let her leave until she told her.

"The bible's not gonna help me, mama" she said.

"What do you mean? Of course it will". Chris shook her head. "Why not?"

"Because I'm gay. I'm a lesbian. The bible hasn't helped me before it's not going to help me now" she said bluntly. Tears filled Gloria's eyes and she shrugged her shoulders.

"What did I do wrong?" she asked. Chris rolled her eyes.

"I don't have time for this mami" she said dismissing her question. "Both of you are going to have to step up and help out around the house" she said talking to her brother and sister. "What happened last time _cannot_ happen again" she said firmly.

"Does this mean I can have my phone back?" Jeza asked.

"Is that all you can think about?" Gloria asked angrily. "Everything that's going on. Your sister is a..." she paused like the word lesbian couldn't pass her lips. She decided to change what she was going to say. "She's leaving to go do a dangerous job and your only question is about your phone".

"Well I need it" she snapped.

"Hey! Watch it" Chris said glaring at her sister. "And no, you can't have your phone back. You're grounded. That means no phone, no computer unless it's homework, no going out after school or on weekends" she said laying out the rules.

"For how long?"

"Until I'm satisfied with your gpa" she said.

"How will know? You'll be gone" she said challenging her.

"Oh, I'll know. Try me" she challenged her right back. Jeza accepted that she was fighting a losing battle and kept her mouth shut. Chris looked at her watch and saw it was seven forty. "We have to go" she said grabbing hers and Amanda's plates, taking them to the kitchen. Amanda got up from the table and pushed her chair in. Gloria gave Amanda a heated glare until Chris came back in to the dining room and told her stop looking at her like that. "I'm not gay because of her" she said. Her mother pleaded with her to take the bible but she refused. She hugged and kissed everyone goodbye, even a reluctant Jeza, before leaving and heading back to Amanda's apartment to get ready to go out.

**Spanish- English Translations**

**Hago las preguntas. Por que no estas en la escuela- **I ask the questions. Why aren't you at school?

**Estoy esperando**- I'm waiting

**Ya hablaremos de esto mas tarde**- We'll talk about this later

**Encantada de conocerte**- Nice to meet you

**Escuche a su hermana**- Listen to your sister

**Para proteger su alma**- To protect your soul


	11. Chapter 11: Getting Comfortable

Chapter 11: Getting Comfortable

Luckily they were both low maintenance women because they were running late. They took turns taking quick showers before getting dressed. Amanda decided on wearing black jeans and black lace top with a black bra underneath. She pulled her hair up in a messy bun and put on a light layer of make up. Chris wore a sleeveless nude dress that stopped at her mid thigh. She'd accidentally gotten her hair wet in the shower causing her to have patches of curls. Instead of straightening her hair again, she just put her hands under water and ran them through her hair, then brushed it out so her hair was completely curly. Just like the other night, they hadn't planned it but they ended up matching each other perfectly. They were the yin to each other's yang. Somehow, they just seemed to work together. Chris was in the bathroom putting the finishing touches on her look when Amanda came over and leaned against the door frame.

"You nervous?" Chris asked.

"Nervous about what?"

"About going to a gay bar...with a lesbian...as your wife?" she asked. She looked at her through the mirror for some indication of what she was feeling but Amanda wouldn't meet her eyes. "Hey" she said turning to face her, "You shouldn't be nervous. What's the worst thing that can happen?"

"I don't know. I'm not too thrilled at the prospect of being hit on all night by women who think I'm gay" she said.

"So, if you get hit on just say you're taken. In my experience, women are much more accepting of rejection than men. I've never had a woman who didn't take no for an answer the first time. And if there is a woman who thinks she's too good to hear the word no, you have me to protect you" she said on kind of joking. "It'll be fine" she said trying to reassure her. "And as for all the other stuff" she said moving closer to Amanda. She put her mouth directly by her ear, "I'll be gentle" she whispered. She walked out of the bathroom and went to the closet to grab her small clutch to put her phone, keys, id and credit card in. Amanda followed her.

"What other stuff?" she asked. She was trying to sound casual with her question but Chris knew she was freaking out on the inside.

"We're a couple, remember? That means holding hands and kissing and making people think that we're interested in having sex with each other" she said.

"I'm not interested in having sex with you" Amanda said quickly. Chris rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Amanda. You don't have a crush on me because you think I have a nice personality and that I'm a good person. You have a crush on me because you find me physically attractive" she said. Amanda opened her mouth to argue but Chris didn't give her a chance to say anything. "I know you're still working on accepting that but like I said before, you don't have to lie about it. I'm not judging you. I understand where you are because I've been there. I know what it is to have feelings that you don't understand and that you didn't ask to have; that you'd rather not have. But you have them. The longer you fight it, the harder this is gonna be". She wanted to make this as easy as possible for the both of them. Getting Amanda to accept the feelings she had for her was the first step. She was used to having no strings attached encounters so this was nothing to her. Granted, this being a co-worker complicated things just a bit but she just put that aside and thought of this as business as usual. She didn't know anything about Amanda's dating life other than she didn't date women and that alone was making this an uphill battle. She needed to figure out how to get Amanda interested in physical part of their relationship. Then it dawned on her. Amanda was far from the first "straight" girl she'd been with and it was always the same. They just wanted to know what it was like to be with a woman. It was curiosity plain and simple.

"Depending on how long it takes us to get this guy" Amanda said pulling Chris out of her thoughts, "I know it'll have to happen eventually. I just...I wish I had more time to wrap my head around it".

"And you will" Chris said. "It's not gonna happen tonight. All that'll happen tonight is some hand holding and maybe a few kisses here and there. If it helps you can just think of some hot guy instead of thinking of me. I think you'll feel better once you get the first kiss over with" she said. She stepped closer to her and put her hand one side of her face then brought their lips together. She initiated the kiss, knowing that Amanda wouldn't make the first move but thought it best to let Amanda decide if it would go any further. Amanda was caught off guard by the kiss at first, which she guessed was what Chris intended. It took a few seconds for her mind to register what was happening. She took in the warmth that came over her from their bodies being so close and the softness of Chris' lips against her own. Finally she relaxed and let her lips part. She lightly caressed Chris' bottom lip with her tongue then slipped it into her mouth when her lips parted. The kiss was sweet and gentle, just how Amanda imagined it would be. She'd never admit to Chris that she'd imagined it but she had, many times. The kiss finally ended and Chris looked into Amanda's deep blue eyes. "See. That wasn't so bad, was it?" she asked in a whisper. Amanda took a step away and turned around to hide the blush that came over her.

"We should go" she said clearing her throat, "We don't want to be late". She walked out of the bedroom and left Chris standing there. Chris took a deep breath and let it out before following Rollins out of the bedroom, out of the apartment and down to the car.

They made the drive to the bar in complete silence. Chris took occasional glances over at Amanda who was staring out the window in a daze. She wondered what she was thinking about but decided not to ask. She just gave her some time to be inside her head and work through her feelings on her own. It was probably better that way. The less Chris had to hear Amanda's feelings the less chance she had of saying the wrong thing. They pulled up to the bar with a couple of minutes to spare. Chris found a parking spot on the crowded lot and turned off the engine. She took the keys out of the ignition then just sat there, waiting for Amanda to be ready.

The entire drive over, Amanda analyzed the kiss she shared with Chris earlier. It was sweet and gentle and spontaneous and better than any kiss she'd ever shared with a man. The more she thought about it the more confused she became. How could this just come up out of nowhere? How could she go through twenty nine years of her life not knowing that she could be so attracted to another woman? It just didn't make sense to her. But Chris was right. No matter how much she didn't understand her feelings or how much she didn't want to feel them, they were there. It was time for her to accept it. She had to accept it if she wanted to do her job. She took a deep breath and reached for the door handle, pulling it and pushing the door open. Chris followed her lead and got out of the car, hitting the locks then putting the keys in her clutch. As they were walking through the parking lot the front of the bar, Chris reached out and grabbed Amanda's hand, interlocking their fingers. Amanda realized what she was doing and quickly pulled her hand away, not wanting anyone thinking they were together. She immediately regretted it remembering that people thinking they were together was the objective. Chris was getting tired of dealing with Rollins' attitude about this situation. Her fear of anyone thinking for a second that she might be gay was starting to make Chris think she was a little homophobic.

"Alright, that's it" she said angrily, "I'm done trying to be nice about this. Whatever you have going on in your head about what we have to do, you need to get rid of it or get over it; I don't care. We have a job to do. You need to stop thinking about yourself. You have plenty of time to do that once this case is over. For the time being, you need to think about Jessica and Rachel, Lauren and Isabelle, Hallie and Kaitlyn, and any other potential vics this bastard has his eyes on". She stood in front of her and waited for her to say something. Amanda took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then nodded her head. She reached out and took Chris' hand in her own and they walked towards the bar entrance. As they rounded the corner, they saw Liv, Nick and Fin waiting for them.

"Wow" Olivia said as they walked over, "You guys look great". They shared a quick glance and then looked back at their colleagues.

"Thanks" Amanda said. "So y'all ready?" she asked. They all nodded their heads and took out their ids to show to the bouncer. When they got inside they found a booth towards the back of the bar and sat down. Nick got the first pitcher of beer for them to share and they talked quietly among themselves about the case. Fin told them he'd found an apartment they could use. It would be available for them to move in in a couple days. Instead of hooking up the trap at Amanda's apartment, TARU was putting one on the wi-fi in their new place. It would all be set up before they moved in. The goal was that if the perp hooked up a video feed using the wi-fi from the building they'd be able to intercept it and see exactly what he was seeing. That information made Amanda all the more uncomfortable. Not only did she have to get comfortable with being intimate with Chris, she had to get comfortable with the idea of other people watching. Chris saw the discomfort wash over her partner and couldn't help feeling bad for her. She knew this was a lot for her to handle and as much as she wanted Rollins to suck it up and get on with the mission, she wanted her to know that felt for her and what she was going through. She took her hand and gave it a sympathetic squeeze. Amanda smiled at the gesture.

Once they were all up to speed on the most recent developments, they put the work talk to bed and took on the roles of old college friends. They were talking and laughing like they'd all known each other for years and Amanda was slowly settling into the role of Chris' wife. It was surprising to Chris seeing as how Amanda didn't even want to hold her hand half an hour earlier. She just figured the two beers Amanda had so far had relaxed her. Amanda occasionally touched Chris' hair or leaned her head on her shoulder. She even had her hand on her thigh underneath the table. That's how Chris was sure that Amanda was getting more comfortable with the idea of being with her. The touching of the hair and her head on her shoulder were both things that other people could see, outward gestures that would make people think they were together. But nobody could see her hand under the table. That touch was just for her. They'd been at the bar for about an hour and a half when a red head came over stood next to Chris. She touched her hair and licked her lips while she looked Christina over.

"Can I buy you drink?" she asked in a sexy tone. Amanda didn't know where it came from but she had an overwhelming desire to protect what was hers. Chris was about to decline the woman's offer when Amanda spoke up.

"I don't think so hon" she said with her southern drawl. "I can buy all the drinks she wants". She put an arm possessively around Chris, flashing the ring on her third finger. The red head got the message loud and clear and quickly moved away from the table.

"That poor girl" Olivia said, "Amanda just scared her half to death" she joked.

"Yeah, she's probably gonna spread the word to stay away from this table" Fin said getting a laugh from everyone. Chris was confused by the sudden change in Amanda but she wasn't complaining. She just hoped it didn't go back to the way it was once she sobered up. A couple more women came over to their table within a thirty minute time span, all trying to hit on Chris. Amanda quickly shut it down, same as she had the first time. She was laying it on thick with the touching and whispering in Chris' ear and laying her head on her shoulder. Chris could barely keep up with all the affection Amanda was showing. Then, out of nowhere, Amanda reached over and put her hand on Chris' face, turned her head towards her and started to kiss her. Chris went along with it so well no one would've ever known that she was freaking out in her head. Benson, Amaro, and Tutuola felt like they were intruding on what was a private moment. They couldn't help but think how natural this was coming together for their colleagues and questioned whether they'd had something going on before this assignment came up. Maybe that was why Rollins was so uncomfortable at the restaurant when Chris' "friend" confronted her.

"Alright you two" Fin said getting their attention, "get a room". They ended the kiss and went back to their conversation. They didn't notice the clean shaven, nicely dressed white man at the end of the bar whose eyes were fixed on Chris and Amanda. Probably because by that time, they'd gotten the attention of almost everyone in the bar. They spent another hour there before calling it a night. Unlike Amanda, Chris had only had one beer when they first got to the bar, knowing she had to drive them home. They walked to the car hand in hand and Chris helped Amanda into the passenger seat. She put her seat belt on and was about to close the door when Amanda grabbed her by the collar of her dress and pulled her in for another kiss. Now Chris was definitely worried. Amanda was getting a little bit too comfortable playing her wife. She was hoping that it was just the speech she gave her earlier that was behind the sudden change but she knew the change was too drastic for that to be the case.

"Ok...alright" she said pulling herself out of Amanda's grasp and shutting the door. "Ay dios mio" she whispered to herself. She stood there for a moment to get her breath and then walked over to the driver's side and got in the car. She started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, starting the drive back the apartment. Five minutes into the drive, she noticed a dark green four door sedan following them. She decided she'd test them and make sure she was right, taking a few unnecessary turns and before pulling over. Sure enough, the car stayed on her tail, making every move she did.

"Why are we pulled over?" Amanda asked. "This isn't my apartment". Chris pulled back casually pulled back out onto the street.

"Amanda, listen" she said glancing over at her. "Are you listening?" she asked. Amanda could hear the serious tone of Chris' voice and perked up.

"Yeah, I'm listening".

"I'm gonna move the side mirror. Dark green sedan, three cars back" she said as she adjusted the mirror. "Can you see it?" Amanda focused on the mirror until she could see the car Chris was describing.

"Yeah, I got it" she said. Chris stopped the mirror from moving any further.

"It's been following us since we left the bar" she said. They shared a knowing look then Amanda quickly got out her phone. Chris pulled up to the apartment building and parked. The sedan kept moving forward and found a space a little ways down the street. Amanda texted Liv to tell her that they thought they hooked the perp and gave her general description of the car. As they walked up to the building, Chris tried to figure out a way to get a look at the license plates without it being obvious that she was looking at the car. She glanced over her shoulder but couldn't make out anything. It was too dark and he'd parked too far away. Just as she was about to try to sneak another glance, the car pulled out onto the street and drove away. "Damn it" she whispered. Amanda opened the door and they went up the stairs.

"At least we know he's interested" she said as she unlocked the door her apartment. Chris sighed and nodded her head in agreement. They went into the bedroom and started to get ready for bed. Chris stepped out of her shoes and put them in the closet before pulling her dress over her head and hanging it up, leaving her standing there in her bra and underwear. Amanda couldn't help the way her eyes slowly raked over Chris' fit, toned body. She was practically drooling as she watched Chris walk over to the dresser to pull out a t shirt and shorts. Chris felt Amanda staring at her and turned to look over her shoulder. Amanda quickly looked away and went on getting herself ready for bed. Once they were both settled into bed, Amanda leaned over and kissed Chris on the lips, lingering for a few seconds.

"Good night" she whispered before turning over and switching off the light on the night stand. Chris was dumbfounded. Amanda had done a complete one eighty from earlier in the day. She'd definitely gotten much more comfortable with this relationship than Chris. She just hoped she didn't get too comfortable.

"Night" she whispered back. She put the case on hold in her mind and drifted off to sleep. A couple of times throughout the night, Chris felt Amanda scooting close to her. She didn't want to be rude and tell her outright to stay on her side of the bed so she just subtly moved away from her. Amanda wouldn't give up though so finally she just let her scoot in close to her, put her arm around her waist and lay her head on her back. She figured they'd have to sleep like this once that perv bugged the apartment so she might as well get use to it now. She relaxed into the bed and let herself drift into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Amanda woke up to the smell of breakfast cooking in the kitchen. She rolled over and grabbed her phone, checking the time. It was eight thirty in the morning, the time she'd usually be at work. She got out of bed and got a pair of socks to warm her feet before heading into the kitchen. Chris was standing at the stove with her back to her, long black curls cascading down her back. She held a coffee mug in her hand, her hip was set to one side and she tapped one foot on the floor. Amanda's eyes traveled over her toned, tan legs up to her butt, just barely covered by the short shorts she'd worn to bed the night before. Amanda managed to pull her eyes away and walk over to counter.

"Morning" she said finally revealing her presence. Chris turned around, pushing her hair behind her ear and smiled. Amanda's breath caught in her throat as she took in how beautiful Chris looked. First thing in the morning, not dressed, no make up, she still looked gorgeous.

"Morning" she said back. "I got up kind of early so I went to the store, veggified your frig" she said making up a new word. "What do you eat anyway? There was like nothing in there" she said pointing to the refrigerator.

"Uh, well I'm not really here enough to do any cooking" she said. "And when I am here, it's usually take out".

"That's not really healthy" she said very motherly.

"Oh, what, like you cook all the time" she said.

"Well, no but I do have food, healthy food, in my frig and I don't eat take out everyday" she said. Amanda shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, at least I run. It evens things out".

"You run?" she asked. Amanda nodded her head. "God, I hate running. I'm a horrible runner" she said turning back to the stove. She stirred the last of the pancake batter and put two more on the skillet to start cooking.

"We can work on that together if you want" she offered. Chris rinsed the empty bowl and sat it in the sink and put away the pancake mix. Then she went back to the stove and flipped the pancakes before taking the eggs she'd prepared and pouring them in a second skillet to cook.

"I'll think about it" she said looking over her shoulder. She put the pancakes on a plate and took them over to the table along with a plate of veggie bacon and sausage. She finished scrambling the eggs then put them in a bowl and sat them on the table with everything else. She went back and forth getting plates and cups and juice, sitting it all on the table.

"Oh, come on. It's all about conditioning. It's gets easier the more you do it" she said as Chris sat down at the table.

"Ok, let's make a deal. I'll run with you if you do a Jillian Michaels yoga work out with me" she wagered.

"Isn't that the trainer from that weight lose show that yells a lot?" she asked. Chris laughed and nodded.

"Yep, that's the one" she said as she filled her plate with food. Amanda looked at all the food like she'd never seen so much before. "What?" Chris asked.

"Nothing, I just...never had anybody cook me breakfast before. This is nice" she said smiling. They locked eyes and shared what felt like the first genuine moment of their "relationship". Chris finally looked away.

"Well...don't get use to it" she said softening the moment. She grabbed the juice and filled both of their glasses, then noticed that Amanda was still standing at the counter. "Aren't you gonna sit down and eat?" she asked. Amanda walked over to her, leaned down and kissed her sweetly on the lips.

"Thank you" she whispered before kissing her again then went to sit opposite Christina at the table. They ate and shared small talk. There was a nice mood between the two of them. Their conversation was effortless. They were learning a lot about each other without trying. As they were cleaning up the breakfast dishes, there was a knock at the door. Amanda went over and opened the door and was jumped by a dog. She looked just as excited to see the dog as the dog was to see her. She thanked the woman who brought the dog over and shut the door. Amanda looked and saw that Chris didn't seem thrilled about having a pet. She walked back into the kitchen with the dog on her heels. She kneeled down and rubbed the dog's head.

"Chris this is Frannie" she said looking up at her. "Frannie Mae this is Chris" she said rubbing her ears. Frannie barked and went over to sit by Chris, wagging her tail. Chris took that as her saying hello. She leaned down and pet her on head.

"You have a dog?" she asked. Amanda nodded her head. "Why didn't I know this?"

"You didn't ask" she said like it was no big deal.

"Where's she been?"

"I had a neighbor take her while we...got situated" she said. She watched as Chris and Frannie got acquainted with each other. Frannie seemed to like her and she was a pretty good judge of character. "So, I'm guessing this means you're okay with animals?" she asked.

"Do I have a choice?"

"No, not really".

"Well then I guess I'm okay" she said as she continued to play with Frannie. Amanda smiled seeing how well they were getting along. "You wanna go out?" she asked standing up straight. "It's supposed to be a nice day". Amanda nodded her head and turned to head into the bedroom. Frannie chose to stay seated by Chris' feet. "You don't wanna follow your mama?" she asked, looking down at her. Frannie whined and turned her head to lick Chris' hand. "Ok, come on". She walked out of the kitchen to the bedroom and Frannie followed behind her. Amanda changed into jeans, tank top and light jacket. Chris put on jeans and t shirt with a San Bernardino baseball cap. Amanda put Frannie's collar on, hooked on her leash and grabbed the frisbee she loved to play with. They pocketed their phones and keys and left the apartment. They walked towards the park when Amanda spotted a hardware store. She handed Chris Frannie's leash and told her she'd be just a few minutes. Chris looked at her suspiciously but didn't ask what she was going in the store for. A few minutes later, Amanda came back out and handed her a key. Chris looked surprised by the gesture. She didn't really need a key to her apartment seeing as how they'd be moving soon.

"What?" Amanda asked. "We're married right? You should have a key". Chris just smiled and nodded her agreement. She gave Amanda back the leash and took out her keys, adding the key to Amanda's apartment to her key ring. They continued on their walk in silence, just enjoying the nice, cool breeze. There were a lot of people in the park due to it being so nice out. The jog path they were walking on was really crowded. They stayed to the outside lane so joggers could have the inside, per proper jog path etiquette. Other people didn't seem to share the same attitude. Every so often there would be a jogger or power walker that would split between them instead passing on the left. After it happened a fifth time, Amanda had enough. She reached over and took Christina's hand, interlacing their fingers. They held hands for the rest of their walk and no one else cut between them. They found an open space in the grass to run around and throw the frisbee with Frannie. After a while, Frannie started playing with other dogs in the park so Chris and Amanda went to sit down and watch. Christina sat down, putting her hands behind her to prop herself up and bent her legs at the knees. Amanda sat down between her legs and leaned back against her chest. She did so like it was something they did all the time.

"What are you doing?" Chris asked surprised by Amanda taking this position.

"I'm sitting with my wife, enjoying the weather and watching our dog play in the park" she said nonchalantly. _"Our dog"_ Chris thought to herself. She laughed nervously and looked around to see who was watching them. Nobody seemed to be paying them any mind. She took a deep breath and tried to relax and enjoy their time in the park. They stayed for half an hour longer before putting Frannie back on her leash and going home for lunch. Chris decided that they needed to have a talk about what was happening between them. She hadn't expected Rollins to take her words so seriously. She was really acting like they were in a relationship, not just in public but at her apartment too. They hadn't been alerted that their was any video hookup so the private affection wasn't necessary, yet Amanda was initiating a lot of it. That could only mean one thing; she wasn't pretending anymore. That wasn't what Chris signed up for. Amanda really needed to dail it back a little. She didn't know how she would say it without hurting Amanda's feelings and potentially jeopardizing the case but it had to be done.


	12. Chapter 12: Problems

Chapter 12: Problems

When they got back to Amanda's apartment, Chris tried out her key to make sure it worked. It did. They decided on making homemade pizzas for lunch. Amanda had never made them before but Chris did it all the time with her brother and sister. She went through every step with her and an hour and fifteen minutes later they were taking a veggie pizza out of the oven. They went over to the couch and sat down to eat. Frannie jumped up and sat next to Amanda and Chris turned on the tv, flipping through channels before finally landing on ESPN.

"Isn't there a game tonight?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah. Lakers at OKC" she said as she shifted uncomfortably. She'd known about this match up for a while and had thought about placing a bet but couldn't decide which team to go for. Amanda had fallen off the wagon a few weeks before Christina joined SVU. She'd been used, again, by people she thought were on her side and cared about her. She was embarrassed that Lena had played her and used things she said to her in confidence for her own benefit. She was even more embarrassed that her personal business was fodder for the court. She felt like everyone was staring at her when Nate was on the stand testifying about their relationship. Lena tried to frame a man for rape and then killed him when things didn't go her way. Amanda had backed her up, spoken up for her, and all the while she was playing her. She should've seen it but she didn't. She'd barely been holding it together after being framed by her sister. Then a victim that she was close to committed suicide. She saw the signs and she didn't do anything to help her. She felt like she should've done more. Then she was shot by a woman who had it out for Fin. After that, Olivia was kidnapped which gave her something other than herself to focus on. It didn't take long though before she was feeling low again. The Jackie Walker case hit her hard. She knew in her gut that he was innocent and she didn't stick to her guns enough to prevent him from being arrested. In the end, the man's life was ruined. Then Nate and Lena happened. That was the last straw. It was just one thing after another where she always seemed to fall short. She felt like such a screw up.

"Hey" Chris said nudging her with her elbow, "Did you hear me?" she asked.

"Huh?" Amanda said looking at her confused. She'd been deep in thought for a couple of minutes and hadn't heard a word Christina said.

"I said do you wanna stay in tonight and watch the game?" Amanda just sat there and stared at her for a moment. "What?" she asked confused. Amanda shook her head.

"Nothing. Staying in to watch the game is fine with me" she said before finishing her pizza. "Who do you think is gonna win?" she asked casually.

"Uh, I don't know. OKC's having a pretty decent season but you never know" she said. "I always root for the underdog".

"So you think the Lakers are gonna take it?" Chris shrugged her shoulders. Amanda took both their plates and her phone to the kitchen. While she was at the sink, she typed up a text to send her bookie for the game. It read: _Lakers/OKC, double bet, dog_. She hesitated for a moment before finally hitting send. She put her phone in her pocket and opened the frig.

"You want a beer?" she asked over her shoulder.

"It's like two o'clock in the afternoon. You're in drinking mood already" Chris asked looking over at her. In her head she was thinking, "_I just placed a bet for five thousand dollars on a shitty team. Damn right I'm in a drinking mood_". She kept the thought to herself and just shrugged her shoulders. "Sure" she said agreeing to the early afternoon drink. Amanda came back over to the couch with two beers and more pizza. She handed Chris her pizza and beer and sat hers on the table.

"Come on, Frannie let's get you some lunch". Frannie jumped down off the couch and went over to her food dishes. Amanda took her water bowl and filled and grabbed the bag of dog food from the cabinet. She sat her water bowl down and filled her food bowl. "Eat up, girl" she said giving her a pat on the head. She put the dog food away and rejoined Christina on the couch. They watched tv and talked about their families and how they grew up, their hobbies, their favorite foods, colors, their pet peeves. Everything that a married couple would know about each other, they talked about it. Neither one of them was too keen on sharing but for some reason sharing between the came easily.

"So what about your move here from Georgia?" Chris asked. "I mean, I know you said that you needed to get away from "the drama". What was it?"

"Ummm, I was assualted...by my deputy chief. He was drunk and he got a little...out of control. I just needed to get out of dodge, you know". Chris nodded her head in understanding as she listened to Amanda explain her move to New York. "My old captain knew captain Cragen and was able to pull a few strings to get me an interview and the captain said come on up. So here I am".

"You know the problems I told you about with my sister?" she asked. Amanda nodded remembering the talk they'd had at the precinct. "Well she was dating a drug dealer. One my unit had eyes on. I was undercover when they saw her with him. My handler got word to me that she was in trouble but of course there was nothing I could do. I asked him to keep an eye out for her and make sure she knew that he was watching her on my behalf. When we finally had everything we needed to bring the ring down, I got out and I wanted to get her as far away from that lowlife as possible. My captain made some calls and found out there was an opening here; put in a good word for me. So here I am".

They stayed in for the rest of the day just talking like they'd planned the day before. At seven o'clock the game came on and Amanda was going crazy. The Lakers got off to a bad start early on. She couldn't believe she'd bet on them. Chris was really amused as she watched Amanda freak out over the horrible job they were doing. Amanda was practically standing on the couch while she yelled at the tv. Frannie looked like she didn't want to come anywhere near her. Chris reached up and pulled on her pants leg.

"Sit down, jeez" she said laughing, "It's just a basketball game". Amanda sat down and put her elbows on her knees. Her leg was bouncing up and down as she stared at the screen. Everytime OKC scored she'd curse under her breath. "I didn't know you took these games so serious. If I did, I wouldn't have suggested we watch", Chris said. She couldn't believe that Amanda was practically having a nervous breakdown watching this game.

"I'm sorry. I just..." she paused not knowing how to explain her behavior without telling Chris about the bet she'd placed. "I'm gonna get another beer. You want one?" she asked getting up from the couch and heading to the kitchen. She figured she'd just change the subject to avoid having to finish her sentence.

"Yeah, sure" she said. Amanda came back and handed her a beer then sat back down next to her. She held in her yelling as best she could as she watched the horrible game in front of her. The second half of the game, the Lakers started to pick it up. Amanda was shaking she was so nervous. When her team finally took the lead, she wasn't able to contain her enthusiasm. It was the last minute of the game and the Lakers were up by eight.

"Oh, come on! Don't get lazy! Play some D!" Amanda yelled at the tv. The game clock was winding down and her team was holding on to their lead. There was thirty seconds left in the game and the Lakers had the ball. "Just hold on to the ball. All you have to do...is hold on...to the ball" she said as she paced in front of the tv. The game finally ended with the Lakers taking the win by six points. Amanda could barely contain herself. Chris just sat there confused about why this win was such a big deal.

"Ok" she said trying to calm her down, "You're scaring me...and the dog".

"I'm sorry. I'm just excited" she said sitting down again.

"Why?" she asked. "It's just a basketball game. It's not like you had any money riding on it" she said with a laugh. Amanda stiffened up and her smile slightly faded. The change in her mood and posture was very noticable. "Unless...you did have money riding on it" she said. "You placed a bet on that game?" she asked.

"Yeah, I did" she said softly.

"For how much?" Amanda looked down at her hands and kept quiet. "Amanda" Chris said getting her to look at her again. "How much?"

"Five...thousand" she said slowly. Chris looked like she could be knocked over with a feather.

"Fi...five thousand _dollars_?" she asked as if it could be five thousand of something else. Amanda silently nodded her head. "Amanda, you bet five thousand dollars...on the Lakers?" she asked in disbelief.

"Well, you said you always root for the underdog. So I listened to you...and it worked".

"You're a gambler" she said as more of a statement than a question. "How bad is it?" she asked. Amanda gave her a confused look. "Your gambling problem" she clarified. "How bad is it?"

"I...I've got it under control" she said. Chris looked at her clearly unconvinced. "It's ummm...it's bad" she admitted. Chris took a deep breath and slowly let it go.

"Ok" she said calmly. "That was your last bet. At least while we're "married". When we get divorced you can go back to gambling and whatever else it is you do that you can't tell anyone about because it could cost you your job. But while we are married, you will not gamble. You will go to meetings and keep yourself on the straight and narrow. Ok?" Amanda tried to look at anything but Christina as she shook her head in agreement. "Amanda look at me" Chris said moving closer to her. She reached over and took her hand. Amanda's blue orbs snapped up to meet Chris' greens. "I want you to stop" she said sincerely.

"Ok. I'll stop" she said confidently. They sat on the couch for the rest of the night talking about themselves. Amanda told Chris how she got started with gambling. It started back at home and got worse when she got to New York. With everything she saw on the job she needed something to wash it off with at the end of the day. Some cops drank the job away. She gambled. She told Chris about how she'd almost lost her badge a couple years ago when Cragen found out about her extracurricular activities. But instead of firing her, her took her to her first meeting. Then she explained how she'd fallen off the wagon again. Chris listened attentively to Amanda as she told her story. Any thought of telling her that she was getting too serious about their "relationship" left her mind. She couldn't do that too her. It might make her problems even worse. She decided that, for their case and Amanda's sake, she would just go with the flow and keep her mouth shut. They finally went to bed around eleven thirty, each falling asleep on their own sides of the bed. During the night, Amanda moved over and laid her head on Chris' back. Chris thought about what would happen if she slept in a different position than on her stomach. Then Amanda would probably just lay her head on her chest or if she slept on her side, Amanda might spoon her from behind. She had a feeling she might as well start getting used to cuddling.

The next day, Chris and Amanda slept in until the afternoon. When they got up, they got dressed and made plans to meet up with Olivia, Nick and Fin for lunch. They stopped to meet with Amanda's bookie on the way to collect her winnings from the bet she placed the night before. The man looked Chris up and down and questioned Amanda about who she was and why she brought her. Amanda assured him that he didn't need to worry about her and told him that this would be her last time. He scoffed, "Yeah...right" he said unconvinced, "I haven't heard that one before". She didn't say anything back. She just took her money and they left.

"We should've stopped by after lunch" Chris said as they walked, hand in hand, to the diner where they were going to eat. "It's crazy to walk around with that much cash".

"It's fine" Amanda said looking over at her. "I have you to protect me, right?" she asked with a smile. Chris smiled back and opened the door to the diner for Amanda to walk in ahead of her. Fin was already seated at a booth in the middle. They slid into the side opposite him and scanned the menu. The waiter came over and asked for their drinks and then left them alone.

"Good news. Your apartment is ready. Fully furnished, big kitchen for your bakery business, and computer set up for your book keeping. TARU already did their thing" he said giving them the run down. "Your business cards are done too. They're there on the desk. You can move in today".

"Great. I hope you're not busy because you're helping" Chris said.

"At your service" he said pretending to bow as best he could from his seated position. "So, how's it going?" Fin asked. He wanted to know how things were for them being a married couple. They shared a look between the two of them.

"Things are good" Amanda said still looking at Chris. She turned back to Fin, "Things are good" she said again. Fin could tell that Amanda was really comfortable in her role. Chris seemed a little less comfortable. He made a mental note to talk to her about it later. Olivia walked in a few minutes later and then Nick a few minutes after that. They both said they were free to help Chris and Amanda move into the apartment they'd be staying in through the rest of the case. Sitting a table in the back of the diner was the same man that had been watching Chris and Amanda at the bar. He picked the table that would give him an unobstructed view of the couple. They were just what he'd been looking for. Perfect in every way.

"So, have you guys talked to the captain?" Chris asked quietly. She and Amanda hadn't gotten any information about the case since their conversation at the bar and they hadn't heard anything about the car that'd followed them that night.

"Yeah. He was glad to hear that you might have the perp interested" Olivia said. "There haven't been any other victims, no attacks reported".

"Huang thinks you definitely have the guy" Nick said chiming in. "He says that you're probably the couple he's been looking for. Fit all his criteria".

"And what, the other three couples didn't?" Amanda asked.

"He says there's a reason he hasn't taken any more women" Fin said, "He's found you".

"Ok, so why hasn't he made his move then?" Amanda asked, trying to assess how much more time she and Chris would have together before they would go back to being just partners and friends.

"He has to go through his whole routine" Chris said. "The stalking, the cameras. He wants to get to know us". A waiter came over and sat a large glass on the table with two straws and two spoons in front of Chris and Amanda.

"A double strawberry shake for the happy couple" he said nicely.

"Uh, I'm sorry" Chris said looking at the shake, "we didn't order this". He nodded his head.

"I know. It's compliments of the gentleman in the..." he trailed off as he looked over his shoulder to a table in the back of the diner. "Huh, that's funny. He was just there" he said seeing that the man was gone.

"Can you describe him?" Chris asked eagerly.

"White man, no older than forty, nice shirt, slacks, clean shaven. Regular looking guy". Chris got up from the table and went out of the dinner to see if she could spot the man. Of course she ended up seeing more than a few forty year old, nicely dressed, clean shaven white men. Just one of the things that would make this perp difficult to catch. She went back inside and sat down next to Amanda who was still staring at the strawberry shake. Chris pushed it towards the waiter.

"You can take that back". He looked back and forth between them.

"Are you sure?" he asked. Amanda nodded her head for both herself and Christina.

"Ok" he said picking up the shake and spoons, "Your server will be right over to take your orders". He took the shake and walked away towards the kitchen.

"Well, I guess now we know for sure" Chris said looking at Amanda. Amanda rested her chin on Chris' shoulder and Chris pressed her lips against Amanda's forehead. They were both on edge knowing that they had the attention of this perp. The night before, during their talk, they agreed to do everything they could to support and comfort each other through the duration of their undercover stint. Amanda was turning out to be a very affectionate partner. Chris was finding it to be surprisingly easy to play along. Amanda hadn't figured out what it was that Chris would need from her and she didn't know if she ever would. She just knew that when Chris needed her, she would be there. Olivia, Fin, and Nick stared at them, dismayed by how much they looked like a real couple. Olivia wondered if they were getting too comfortable and how that would affect them working together once this was all over. She made a mental note to bring it up with the captain when she checked in with him again. They ate lunch and decided they'd do something later that night, like a normal group of friends. After some debate, they decided to do bowling. It was fun and they could still have food and a few beers if they wanted. Chris made it abundantly clear that she'd just be watching because she was horrible at bowling.

They left the diner and made the drive over to Amanda's to pack up their things and move it to the new apartment. They were all set on living and dining room furniture so they only packed up the bedroom furniture. They emptied the closet, dressers and bathroom cabinets as well as the kitchen cabinets and refrigerator. Luckily, Amanda had flatbed truck for them to put the bed and dressers. They loaded up the cars with everything else and Amanda locked up her apartment. She got in her truck and Chris took Frannie in her car. He'd been watching for almost ten minutes as they went in and out of the building, putting things in the car. When he saw that they were finished and getting into their cars, he did the same and then followed as Fin led the way to their new apartment.

They got right to work moving everything in. Olivia took the kitchen, stocking the refrigerator and cabinets. Fin and Nick insisted on hauling up the bedroom furniture. Chris joked about them wanting to feel like big, strong men. Chris laughed at Frannie, who followed Amanda back and forth to the car as if she wanted to help. The man watched from across the street as Nick and Fin went back and forth carrying the furniture, trying to figure out which apartment they were going to. The most he could make out was that they were going to the second floor. He'd have to do something other than just watch to figure out which apartment was theirs. He saw a kid skateboarding up and down the sidewalk and offered her ten dollars to go and see which apartment was being moved into. He gave her five dollars to start. She casually crossed the street and entered the building. Just a minute later, she came back and told him it was the second floor, "fourth door on the right" she said. After asking if she was sure and receiving a confident nod, he thanked her and gave her another five dollars. She happily took the money and rode away on her board.

Amanda and Chris got to work unpacking all their clothes and putting their things in the bathroom. When she went back out the living room, she noticed a table behind the couch that had pictures of her and Amanda together. She went over to get a closer look and was impressed by how authentic they looked.

"The guys at TARU did those too" Fin said looking over her shoulder. "Pretty good, huh?" he asked. Chris was so absorbed in the images of them together that his question barely registered with her. She absentmindedly nodded her head and gave a barely audible "yeah" before putting the pictures back and going back to the bedroom to help Amanda. Once everything was unpacked Olivia, Nick and Fin said their goodbyes and went to get cleaned up for their planned outing. Chris and Amanda went out shopping for curtains and few things to decorate the walls in their new apartment. When they were done putting everything up, they showered, got dressed and went to meet everyone at the bowling alley.

Chris was good to her word and just sat and watched while everyone else bowled. Fin had invited his son and son in law and their kids out to bowl with them, Brian came with Olivia and Nick brought Zara and Gil. They had two lanes, one without bumpers for the adults and one with bumpers for the kids. After taking his turn, Fin came over and sat next to Chris. He thought he'd take this opportunity, while Amanda was out of earshot, to talk to Christina about the slight discomfort he saw in her at the diner.

"So, what is it?" he asked. Chris had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

"What is what?"

"What's bugging you about being with Amanda?" he clarified. She looked at him with a blank expression then shrugged her shoulders.

"Nothing" she said.

"You're a horrible liar" he said bluntly. Chris laughed and scratched her head.

"Ummm, it's...it's complicated" she said honestly. Olivia looked over to see Fin talking to Chris.

"Fin" she yelled getting his attention, "You're up". He waved her off.

"Let one of the kids have my turn" he said. She nodded and asked the kids who like to take Fin's turn. They all raised their hands but Gil won by arguing that he was the oldest and had the best chance at doing well without the bumpers. "So, what's so complicated?" he asked not letting Chris off the hook. She closed her eyes and let out a huff of air. "Look, if I noticed that you're uncomfortable with Amanda, it won't be long before she notices. Not to mention you have a psycho stalking you who has to believe you're happy together. So...what's so complicated?".

"She's taking this too seriously" she said softly. "She likes me; _really_ likes me. It was confusing for her at first because she doesn't date women but we've talked about it and I guess whatever I said really resonated with her because she is doing this one hundred percent".

"Isn't that a good thing?" he asked. "You have to be a believable couple".

"Yeah, it's a good thing...in public" she added. "But she's doing it in private too. The cameras aren't up yet, there's no reason for her to...be so affectionate" she said.

"Come on, that's not what bothering you" he said unconvinced. "What's the real problem?" Chris hated him poking around in her feelings but it was nice to have someone to process them with.

"I don't hate it" she admitted. Fin nodded his head understanding now what this was about. "I don't do feelings. I'm not the relationship type but...the thought of being with Amanda, really being with her...just doesn't bug me. I mean it bugs me but it bugs me because it's not...bugging me. I've never felt like this before". She'd been trying to convince herself that she was uncomfortable with Amanda because she didn't share mutual feelings but the truth was, she was uncomfortable because the feelings _were_ mutual and that was scary to her. "Anyways, it doesn't matter".

"Why not?" he asked. "If you two like each other, I say go for it". Chris shook her head side to side.

"No, I can't. I don't date straight girls" she said bluntly. "And we work together. It's just...it's a bad idea. I just want to nail this perp and have this, us, be done".

"You gotta do what's best for you but just some advice...don't cheat yourself out of a good thing" he suggested. "What you could have with Amanda...that's a good thing". He gave her a pat on the shoulder and went over to rejoin the game, leaving Chris to think about what he'd just said. A few minutes later, Amanda came over and sat next to her.

"Hey" she said smiling.

"Hey" Chris said softly. Amanda could tell something was bothering her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing" she answered. "Just...thinking". Amanda put her hand on the side of Chris' face and turned her head to look into her eyes. Chris was captivated by the depths of her ceruleans. She wanted to stop fighting herself, her feelings, but fear was paralyzing. Then the corners of Amanda's lips turned upwards into a small smile and Chris felt a shiver go through her. She leaned in and kissed Amanda firmly on the lips, running her tongue lightly along her bottom lip. Amanda's lips parted and Chris slipped her tongue past them, caressing the inside of her mouth. She brought her hand to the back of Amanda's head and pulled her further into their kiss. He watched, once again, from the other side of the room, disgusted by what he was seeing. They were making out like a couple of teenagers and in front of children no less. He decided it was time for him to make his next move. This was the most important task, acquiring video surveillance. This would tell him everything he needed to know about them; their habits, their needs, who was dominant and who was submissive. This is where he'd learn how to break them. They must repent or die.


	13. Chapter 13: Solutions

Chapter 13: Solutions

They got home from the bowling alley at eleven and went right to the bedroom to get ready for bed. While she was changing, Chris thought about the conversation she had with Fin. She couldn't decide what to do about the feelings she was having for Amanda. One part of her wanted to go for it like Fin suggested. The other part of her was fighting like hell against feeling anything real. It wasn't that Amanda was the first straight woman she'd ever been with but she was the first that she'd ever had any real feelings for. Straight women were never in it for the long haul. They were always just vacationing, checking out the scenery. They'd partake in the festivities and then go back to their boyfriends when they'd had their fill. Chris couldn't do that. She had nothing and no one to go back to. This was her life. What happened when Amanda's curiosity about being with another woman wore off and she wanted to go back to dating men again? She wouldn't allow herself to used and then put back on the shelf like some product she was trying out. She wouldn't allow herself to be hurt.

She went over and laid down next to Amanda in bed and turned her back to her. Amanda could tell that something was on Chris' mind. She'd just watched her stand by the closet for five minutes just staring into space, obviously thinking about something. She thought maybe it had something to do with the conversation she'd had with Fin at the bowling alley but she wasn't sure if she should ask. After laying there silently for fifteen minutes, not able to fall asleep, she decided she'd try to talk to her about it.

"Christina" she whispered, "are you asleep?"

"No" she whispered back.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing" she said. She was still trying to sort her feelings out and she didn't want Amanda's help doing it.

"What were you and Fin talking about earlier?"

"Nothing" she lied. Amanda reached out and put her hand on Chris' shoulder, pulling on her to force her to turn over. Chris resisted her tug and pulled the covers higher over her. Amanda put her hand back on her shoulder and pulled her again. Chris shrugged from under Amanda's touch, "Stop it" she said harshly.

"What did I do?" She didn't know where this attitude was coming from. She couldn't figure out where things had gone wrong between them.

"Nothing" she repeated for the third time. She really just wanted Amanda to leave her alone and go to sleep.

"Well, why are you mad at me?" she asked, not giving up on finding out what was wrong.

"I'm not" she said, annoyance evident in her voice.

"Well, why are you mad?" Amanda asked amending her question.

"I'm not mad" she answered angrily. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath trying to control her temper, "I'm not mad" she said in a calmer tone. Amanda didn't know what else to say or ask to get her to talk about what was going on with her. She just laid there and stared at Christina's back. Chris finally turned over and looked at Amanda. She immediately felt bad when she saw the sadness in her eyes. "I'm really not mad, ok. I promise".

"Something's bothering you. What is it?" she asked. She didn't know if what she had to say would hurt Amanda's feelings. She wasn't even sure what she wanted to say. Her thoughts were all jumbled and Amanda wasn't giving her a chance to work through them. She just decided to say what was on her mind and hope that by the end, everything made sense to both her and Amanda.

"You're really into this whole thing" she said softly, "This relationship".

"I thought that's what you wanted" she said confused. "I put my feelings aside. I've gotten more comfortable with the idea of being with you".

"You've gotten too comfortable, Amanda" she said. "The cameras aren't even up yet and you're kissing me and cuddling with me. When I said to put your feelings aside, I was talking about how you were acting in public; not private". Amanda thought she was doing a good job of masking her actions as just being part of the job. Truthfully, she really wanted to figure out what it'd be like to date Christina. It'd been nice so far. She was completely comfortable with her feelings for Chris and was considering talking to her about trying to make it work once this case was over.

"I…I just…" She wasn't sure to explain herself.

"I get it, that you like me. I like you too" she admitted. Amanda was surprised to hear Christina say that she liked her back. She was sure that she was just playing along for the sake of the case. "I just….I don't think it's a good idea for us to get too comfortable in this arrangement" she said.

"Why not?" Amanda asked disappointed. "We like each other and I think we work really well together. Why shouldn't we see where this could go?"

"Because you're straight, Amanda" she said bluntly. "I'm not interested in being you're science experiment; someone for your to test out your fantasies on".

"That's not what I'm doing" Amanda said defensively. "Let me remind you, that I was forced to do this same as you".

"Uh, if I remember correctly it was you who talked me into doing this" Chris corrected her. "Just admit it, Amanda. Whatever you're reservations were, you wanted to know what it would be like to be with a woman; to be with me". Amanda's silence was all the confirmation she needed. "I'm not a shoe. You can't try me on to see if I'm a fit".

"That's not what I want" Amanda said honestly. "I really….want to be with you" she said hesitantly. "It's not an experiment". She put her hand under Chris' chin and lifted her head until their eyes met. "It's not an experiment" she said in her low sultry southern accent. Christina's stomach was doing back flips and her heart felt like a hammer pounding in her chest. It was so loud it was drowning out the thoughts in her head that were telling her that this was a mistake. She put her hand on the back of Amanda's head and pulled her into a smoldering kiss. She abandoned all common sense. Every fiber of her mind was screaming "Don't do it" while every bone in her body ached for their connection. Amanda's mind was going a million miles a minute. Christina felt so amazing; more amazing than any man she'd ever been with. Her lips were so soft and her touch was firm but gentle. Christina rolled on top of Amanda, continuing to explore the inside of her mouth with her tongue. She moved her legs so they rested on either side of her hips. She was getting more and more nervous as things became more and more heated. Chris' hand slid under her shirt and lightly caressed her skin, sending a shiver through her. Her tongue skimmed across the roof of her mouth and her lips pressed gently against her own. Her hand moved up and cup her breast and she ran her tongue along her lips before pulling away and looking deep into her eyes. She looked for something, anything that would tell her that this was a mistake. Anything that would say "Don't be fooled. She's using you. Fight it". She searched and she couldn't find it.

Amanda searched Christina's eyes for some indication of what she was thinking. She wondered if she could see her nerves. She was more afraid now than ever. More afraid than being cornered by her deputy chief. More afraid than when she was doubled over in pain on the ground at a gas station. More afraid than in the captain's office in jeopardy of losing her badge, than when she was in jail, than when she was laying on the ground in a pool of her own blood with a hole in her shoulder. More afraid now than ever. Love was a scary thing. "_Love_" she thought to herself. "_Is this love_?" Christina could see every ounce of fear in her. She rolled over to lay down at her side and continued to stare into her deep blue portals.

"I should be the one who's afraid" Christina said in a whisper. She got up and walked out of the bedroom, leaving Amanda laying there alone. She sat on the couch with her back against the armrest and stared out the living room window. Frannie jumped up on the couch with her and laid her head in her lap. Chris pet her head and played with her ears and Frannie snuggled into her, offering herself as a friend. Amanda walked silently into the living room and sat on the other end of the couch. She watched quietly as Chris played with Frannie.

"I know that I didn't seem open to being with you or any woman for that matter" she said breaking the silence, "but it wasn't about being gay or not being gay. I'm fine with gay people. Fin's son is gay and we help gay victims all the time. I like gay people". Chris smiled at the way Amanda was rambling similar to the way she did when she drank too much coffee. "It was about me, about knowing something about myself and being secure. Then all of sudden, there's this new piece that I didn't see coming. Has that ever happened to you?" she asked. Chris shook her head no but didn't look up at Amanda. "Well, you did that to me. Nobody's ever done that to me before; made me question who I am. But I'm secure again. I…I want this to work out. I want _us_ to work out….even when this is over". Chris stared at Frannie and continued to rub her ears as she laid in her lap. "And I'm afraid, same as you are, that it…that it might not but I still want to try".

"I don't think we're afraid of the same thing" Chris said quietly. "I'm afraid of…." Chris paused for a moment to think about whether she wanted to admit what her fear was about. "I'm not afraid of who I am. I've known that for a long time and no one's ever made me question myself, so I don't know….what you're feeling. I'm not worried that it won't work out, I'm…just afraid" she said deciding to avoid saying what her real fear was. "But I….I want to try too" she admitted. "So we'll just keep going the same way we've been for the last few days and uh, we'll see what happens, I guess". She finally looked up and met Amanda's eyes and saw that the fear that was there before was faint. She looked more ready for this than she'd ever been for anything. More ready now than ever.

"Come back to bed?" Amanda asked standing up from the couch. Chris thought about it for a moment before standing up and walking back into the bedroom. Having just lost her pillow, Frannie laid her head down on the couch. Amanda turned to follow Chris back to bed when she heard Frannie whine from behind her. She turned back around to see that Frannie had lifted her head from the couch and was staring at her with her sweet brown puppy dog eyes.

"Ok, you can come too" she said. Frannie hopped down off the couch and went into the bedroom, Amanda following close behind her. She got in bed and laid next to Christina while Frannie jumped up and settled down at the foot of the bed. Amanda laid there thinking about how normal a couple they were, both laying there with their dog at the foot of the bed. She smiled to herself then rolled over and cuddled into Christina in the same manner she had for the past few nights, drifting off to sleep. She could really get used to this.

Amanda woke up the next morning to the phone ringing out in the living room. She heard Chris answer in a sweet, professional tone and wondered who she was talking to. She pulled back the covers and got out bed, lazily making her way out of the bedroom. The sweet smell of baked goods hit her immediately after she opened the bedroom door. Chris was in the kitchen at the breakfast bar with the phone between her shoulder and ear as she stirred something in a mixing bowl. Amanda looked over and saw Frannie at her food dishes enjoying a fresh breakfast and concluded that Chris had taken care of changing her food and water this morning. She walked over and saw two freshly baked cakes and three trays of cookies on the table. Chris ended her phone call and poured the batter she'd been stirring into a clean cake pan.

"Someone's been busy this morning" Amanda said looking at everything on the table and counters.

"Yeah, well, this business isn't going run itself" she said putting the cake in the oven. Amanda looked at the clock and saw it was only eight fifteen. They hadn't done any shopping for bakery stuff together so she assumed Christina went out early and got everything they needed. She walked over and stood next to the counter, taking in the mess that was being made in their kitchen.

"What time did you get up this morning?" she asked. She reached over and stuck her finger in bowl of icing.

"Early" Chris answered. She saw Amanda pick up some icing with her finger and slapped her hand away. "That is for the cakes" she said, "for our customers" she added.

"We have customers already?" Amanda asked in surprise. Chris nodded.

"Apparently, TARU made us a website and Olivia, Nick and Fin passed out some of our business cards yesterday. We've gotten ten orders just this morning and I haven't even checked our online orders yet" she said moving around the kitchen like a skilled chef.

"Alright. I'm on it" Amanda said. She snuck another dip of icing and went over to the makeshift business center TARU had set up for them, taking the phone with her. She sat down and started up the computer, taking another look at their business cards as she waited for it to boot up. She couldn't believe how real they looked. Once the computer was up, she pulled up their website and went to their online orders page. "Oh my god" she said in disbelief. Chris looked over at her mortified by what she might say. "There's twenty more orders on here" she said. Chris groaned, resting her arms on the counter and letting her head fall on top of them.

"We need to hire help" she said in a muffled voice. She let out a frustrated sigh before getting back to work on their orders.

"I thought this was supposed to be a fake business" Amanda said, "Why are they giving out so many cards?"

"It has to be a believable business I guess" Chris answered as she covered the cakes with icing. The phone started to ring and Amanda picked up the cordless and answered but only heard a dial tone. She could still hear ringing as she hung up the home phone and realized it her cell ringing in the bedroom. She got up and went to answer it. It was Fin and he wanted to know if she had time to meet him for brunch. He said it wasn't about the case. He just wanted to check in with her. She said she could meet up with him but asked if they could push it back to lunch. Thanks to him, Olivia and Nick they had a ton of orders to work on. He laughed and agreed to push their meet back to lunchtime before hanging up with her. She went back to the living room and sat at the computer to work on their orders.

"Who was that?" Chris asked from the kitchen. She took a batch of cupcakes from their phone orders out of the oven and sat it on the top of the stove.

"Fin" Amanda answered as she wrote out the online orders for Christina. "He wants to meet me for lunch".

"Oh, great. You get to go out for lunch dates and I get to bake all day".

"I can call him back and tell him I have to…stay home and help you bake" she offered.

"Ummm, no thanks. We want people to like our desserts and we both know that you can't cook" she said.

"How do you know that I can't cook?" she asked with an offended look.

"Because before I moved in with you, you didn't have anything that resembled real food in your refrigerator" she said walking over to sit on the couch. She sat with her arm draped over the back of the couch and positioned herself to face Amanda at the computer desk.

"That's not true" she argued, "I had real food".

"No, you didn't. There was nothing in there that wasn't pre-packaged or in take out containers" she said. "It's okay that you can't cook. I wouldn't be able to if it weren't for my mother teaching me to be a good house wife while I was growing up". Amanda laughed and handed her the list of orders that had come in online.

"Well, maybe I should stay and learn a few things from you".

"No, it's ok" she said, "You should go" she said looking over the list, "I have plenty to keep me busy". Amanda thought for a minute, debating whether she should stay in and help Chris despite her telling her it was ok for her to leave. "I'm gonna need to go back to the store" Chris said still looking at the list Amanda had given her.

"Ok" Amanda said turning back to the computer, "I'll process these orders and send out the confirmations and update the books. It shouldn't take me too long. Then we can get ready and leave together". Chris got up from the couch and headed back to the kitchen.

"Ok" she said, "sounds good". She took the last of the icing and covered the cupcakes before starting on the decorations. They both worked diligently on their separate tasks. Chris stared at Amanda as she sat at the computer. She thought about the talk they'd had the night before about how they both wanted to try at real relationship with each other. She didn't know what she thinking agreeing to that. She didn't know anything about being in a relationship. But there was something about Amanda that made her want to learn. She could feel herself changing little by little and she wondered just how different she'd be by the end of this case and if she'd like herself more or less when it was over. She didn't take people's advice very often but she could still hear Fin's voice in her head telling her not to let a good thing get past her. She didn't know why but it was a piece of advice that she wanted to take. She just hoped that her fears didn't become a reality.


End file.
